Keepsake
by wickedworkings
Summary: Post-Seven; Harry returns from Auror training to find Ginny with a one-year-old son that she claims to be theirs.
1. A Kiss Goodbye

**KEEPSAKE  
Post-Seven; Harry returns from Auror training to find Ginny with a one-year-old son that she claims to be theirs.**

**Disclaimer: All JKR's work.**

* * *

**Note:** For all those who read my first version of _Keepsake_, this is a new version of that story. The storyline has remained inherently the same, but the story has just been retold with a clearer focus. Also, this is **_slightly_ out of canon.** It is post-_Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, _but very few events from the book did not take place in the same world as _Keepsake_. I am writing it in the same way that I did the first version, which was written before HP7. So some things may be different.

* * *

**ONE:** **A Kiss Goodbye**

"Harry?"

Ginny fumbled blindly under the sheets of her bed, still slightly disoriented from having just woken up. When she realized that the space next to her was empty, she opened her eyes and looked around her room. Morning light peeked through from behind her curtains and her door was slightly ajar as opposed to being fully shut as it had been last night. _He must be downstairs_, she concluded.

She crawled out of bed slowly as the aftereffects of last night's firewhisky shots drummed soundly through her head. Her stomach growled at her and she remembered how little she had to eat in comparison to how much she had to drink. For being hung-over for the first time in her life, Ginny realized she didn't care much for it. As she tiptoed around her party clothes strewn across the hardwood floor, she grabbed her night robe from her closet and wrapped it around herself to conceal her otherwise scanty undergarments that she had uncomfortably fallen asleep in.

_Never again. Firewhisky, no food and Harry…never again_.

As she walked into the empty hallway outside her room, a small pang of fear resonated in her mind. Where was everyone? Had Harry and Ron left already? Did she wake up too late to say her goodbyes? What if last night's semi-drunken encounter had been the last she would see of Harry or her brother for the next year? She continued down the hall, hoping to find someone that would prove her wrong.

"Alright there, Ginny?" someone said from behind.

Ginny turned around and found Hermione standing there, and she breathed a sigh of relief.

"Hermione. Have they gone yet?"

Hermione shook her head. "No. The two of them are still downstairs eating breakfast. You see, your mum's got this idea that they'll be poorly fed at Auror training. So she's hoping to counter a year's worth of malnourishment with just one breakfast."

"I see," Ginny said. "Why are you upstairs?"

"Your brother's not quite the smartest when it comes to packing for a year," Hermione explained. "Your mum sent me upstairs to do the job properly. He seemed to have forgotten to pack his underwear…"

Ginny smiled thankfully. "I don't know what Ron would do without you."

"There's a thought," Hermione said wistfully. "So…"

Ginny looked at Hermione suspiciously. "Yes?"

"You spent the night with Harry!" Hermione exclaimed.

"Not so loud!" Ginny said, panicked. "You know? How do you know?"

"_Everyone_ knows," Hermione said dryly. "Everyone except Ron, perhaps, but that's to be expected. Believe me, the two of you weren't exactly the most subtle pair last night. You were flirting the entire night."

"Damn it." Ginny shook her head aggressively. "I can't _believe_ last night happened. And what's worse is _I'm_ the stupid one in this situation. He's the smart one, doing whatever the hell he wants the night before he leaves for a year, and I'm the one who's left to pine for him in his absence! Where's the common sense in that?"

"I couldn't tell you. I thought you and Harry were done."

"That was all firewhisky last night," Ginny explained. "Not much of it was done on actual emotion."

"I wouldn't be so sure," Hermione said. "Harry seemed to have a lot on his mind during breakfast this morning."

"Really? Did he say anything?"

"Not when we asked him. Besides, he was a bit preoccupied with some Auror business, as well. An owl came this morning with a letter telling them that instead of going to Ireland for the first leg of their training, they'll be heading to Germany."

Ginny sighed. "When Harry and I broke up, it was so that we could both focus on other parts of our life. Him on his Auror training, and me on becoming a Healer…or whatever it is that I need to do with my life. But ever since him and Ron told us that they would be leaving for a year, I haven't been able to get him out of my head since."

"Do you want to get back together with him?"

"I can't possibly do that! He could meet someone in the next year. I don't want to make him feel as though he's obligated to someone here. Besides, he's leaving _today_. There just isn't enough time. Not everyone can have the same stable relationship that you and Ron have."

Hermione turned red. "Ron and I aren't exactly _stable_, but I trust our relationship enough that after a year, we'll still be the same."

"Harry and I don't even have a relationship to speak of."

"Well, to be honest Ginny, that's your fault. You're the one that ended things because you thought it would be better for the two of you. But the truth is Harry never got over you. And you never got over him, either."

"What are you suggesting exactly, Hermione? I can't start anything with him now."

"Talk to him," Hermione said calmly. "I'm sure he'd want to do the same, especially after last night. You can't let him leave confused."

Ginny sighed again. "I suppose so. After all, it's Harry. Talking to him has never been a problem before."

* * *

"Ron, have you seen Harry?"

After talking to Hermione, Ginny walked downstairs to find that the entire breakfast table had been cleared. Her mum was in the kitchen hand washing the dishes as opposed to using a wand, while her father was out in the front having conversation with the Ministry delegate that would escort Harry and Ron to their rendezvous point at a Portkey. The rest of her brothers were here and there, hoping to avoid any last minute chores that would be forced upon them.

"He's outside in the garden. _Why_?" Ron eyed his little sister suspiciously.

"Don't give me that look, Ron. I just want to talk to him."

"Haven't the two of you had enough to talk about, what with last night and all?"

"Shut up, why don't you? I thought I ought to give him a proper goodbye. And don't you _dare_ make a comment after that."

Ron rolled his eyes. "Ginny, haven't I told you to be smart with Harry? With boys in general?"

"Well, you haven't exactly dealt me the best advice with boys…"

"I'm being serious, Ginny. I'm not saying this as Harry's best mate, but I'm saying this as your brother. A year is a long time. Anything can happen. With you, I know that 'talking to Harry' doesn't mean just talking to Harry. Be pragmatic here. You're young and you have a thousand options to choose from."

Ginny shuddered. "I'm not used to your big brother advice. But don't worry, I'm being smart. Besides, if things can happen in a year, then why are you bothering with a long distance relationship with Hermione?"

"Hermione and I are…different," Ron said carefully. "We're older and I'm relying heavily on her common sense to keep us together."

"I'm only a _year_ younger, Ron. And Harry's the same age as you are and we've been together long enough to know how this works. I don't even understand what you're getting worked up for! I just want to talk to him."

"I'm only watching out for you."

She reached over and hugged Ron in the middle of their dining room. She sighed deeply.

"I know. You're the best brother I could ask for, and I'm going to miss you terribly."

"Are you lying?" Ron asked jokingly.

"Of course not. Who else is going to watch out for me when you're gone?" The two of them pulled away.

"Exactly. Keep that in mind while I'm gone. Now go out and talk to him. But be careful and quick. We're leaving in fifteen minutes and I need to go say my, erm, _proper_ goodbyes to Hermione."

Ginny grimaced as she walked out to the backyard. The decorations from last night were still strewn across the garden. A banner that Hermione had bewitched to hover above the festivities had now fallen to the ground and rippled in the gentle breeze. Several tables were still set up, some still covered with empty glasses and half-eaten meals. She wasn't looking forward to having to clean this up with her mum and Hermione once the boys left, but she knew that as long as the garden stayed this way, then Harry would still be here and she could have her chance to talk to him. She looked around several times before she finally found him sitting alone at the table where they had been sitting last night, drinking firewhisky, following through with their indiscretions…

"Hi there," Ginny said softly.

Harry jumped at the sound of her voice and nearly toppled out of his chair. He stood up awkwardly and swept his jet-black hair to one side of his face, revealing his lightning-bolt shaped scar and his emerald green eyes. For a twenty-year old, he looked like a young man who had been through so much more in his life. Even after three years since Voldemort's defeat, he still had the demeanor of a weathered soul ready for a life of relaxation. However, his career choice of being an Auror contradicted that.

"Hi, Ginny." His voice croaked nervously. He looked as though he had been planning this moment in his head for a while.

"We can sit, if you want," Ginny suggested, taking a seat next to him. "I'm sure you'll be spending a lot of the next year standing and moving around."

Harry smiled sheepishly. "I'm a bit scared, actually."

"Scared?" Ginny asked incredulously. "Harry Potter, the Chosen One? Scared? You defeated Voldemort – you did what no other wizard could do, and a little Auror training is scaring you?"

"When you put it that way, it sounds stupid, but I feel like this is the first time that I'm doing anything alone."

"You have Ron, don't you?"

"I suppose, but I mean that this is a different responsibility than what I'm used to. I've never really had to worry about taking care of myself – just others. Now, I'm accountable for my own actions and my future. I need to do well during training so that I can be an excellent Auror."

Ginny laughed. "You'll do brilliantly. You're a natural at all of this. A year across Europe is nothing compared to backpacking through it to avoid Snatchers and Voldemort's clutches."

Harry grinned sheepishly. "I guess…maybe I'm just scared of being away from familiarity for so long."

Ginny felt her cheeks fill up with blood. "Afraid you'll get homesick?"

"I'm almost certain," he said. "I may be going with Ron, but I'll be leaving behind all of my other friends that I've gone through so much with…including you."

"Harry…"

"Listen, Ginny, I know that we both have the same thing on our minds right now. And I just want to say that last night was amazing...at least what I remember of it. But spending a night with you, regardless of state of consciousness, is always a fantastic experience and it was the best way to say goodbye."

"It really was fantastic," Ginny said softly.

"Ginny, promise me something," he said seriously, as though he didn't hear her. "Promise me that you'll make yourself happy. That's my only wish for while I'm gone. Your happiness is all I truly care for and I want to know that you'll do me that favor. That regardless of whatever you and I are, you won't let that stand in the way of who you can be."

"What are you saying?" Ginny asked, somewhat offended.

"Don't think of me while I'm gone," he clarified. "Don't let me complicate matters. If you meet someone, then let it happen. Be happy!"

"You're not always on my mind," Ginny said defensively. "And I _won't_ let you get in the way of my happiness."

"Good!" Harry said, relieved but a little too dense to realize that he had hurt Ginny. "That's what I want to hear."

"What does this mean for us, then?"

Harry shrugged. "It means that…we'll let things take their natural course. Anything can happen in a year."

"As if I haven't heard that one yet…" Ginny murmured under her breath.

Harry stood up. "I should say goodbye to everyone now…we should be leaving soon."

Ginny stood up as well and looked Harry in the eyes. "Well, then, goodbye."

Harry looked at her intently, his passion for her concealed by the kindness and warmth of his stare. He approached her softly and wrapped his arms around her, one around her waist and one around her neck to cradle the back of her head. As he leaned in softly, their lips brushed and he kissed her deeply, a kiss that would have to leave a lasting impression for the next year. Ginny arched her back and brought herself closer to him, but just as soon as she had done that, the kiss reached its end and he pulled away.

"Goodbye, Ginny."

With that, he turned around and away.

She stood there, motionless for a while and unable to think or do anything. Was that really how they would leave each other for a year? Even if he told her to be happy, regardless of him, she wasn't sure that that was what she wanted to do. Especially not after that kiss.

All of a sudden, Ginny was brought back to that moment in her room, three years ago, on Harry's birthday. She could remember not having a present to give him, instead offering him the simplest and surest sign of her love for him. A kiss. A kiss as simple as their kiss just now but filled with the promise of a forever together once he had fulfilled his destiny and Voldemort was gone. It was a kiss filled with certainty, one that said no matter what happened, they would still have each other.

She brought her fingertips to touch her lips. She wasn't sure what this kiss meant.

* * *

**AN: **So, for those who read _Keepsake_ the first time around, I hope you still remember the storyline and enjoy the revamping. And for those who are reading _Keepsake_ for the first time, regardless of version, I hope you enjoyed it [: I can't wait to restart all of this again!


	2. Without Harry

**KEEPSAKE  
Post-Seven; Harry returns from Auror training to find Ginny with a one-year-old son that she claims to be theirs.**

**Disclaimer: All JKR's work.

* * *

**

**TWO: Without Harry**

For the next two weeks, Harry and their kiss was all Ginny could think about. She would dream of ways that she could redo their goodbye, of ways that she could have said everything that was on her mind. She imagined that anything she said, anything _except _what was said upon their goodbye, could have kept him from leaving. Among her daydreams was her telling him that she refused to be happy without him and thereby keeping him with her out of sheer stubbornness. One other particular scenario involved what would have happened if their kiss became more than just a kiss…but that was a scenario that surfaced only when she missed him to the point of loneliness.

However, Ginny had minimal reason to be lonely. Aside from her family's company at the Burrow as well as Hermione's, she was surprised when Harry started writing her. At first, it was a simple letter telling her that they had arrived in Germany and that he had seen a woman that reminded him of her. Naturally, she was worried that he was already getting over her, but he ended the letter by telling her that he wished he could be with her instead. His subsequent letters would arrive in rapid succession and for each one she received, Ginny grew more and more confused. He wanted her to be happy with him out of the way, and yet he kept saying things to her that was clearly more than just mere friendliness or flirtation. It was as if they were together again, except not exactly so.

Thankfully, Ginny had Hermione, who had moved into the Burrow with Ron almost a summer ago. The two of them developed a stronger friendship in the absence of Harry and Ron. Hermione was much stronger and logical about the situation than Ginny was. Hermione was by no means a broken woman without Ron. She used their time apart to focus on her career. Through her increased activism in N.E.W.T., Hermione became a prominent figure in the Ministry's Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. Her incredible work ethic inspired Ginny to do the same and look for a job. Due to her father's occupation, a position in the Ministry of Magic was a natural choice, but she had always hoped to play professional Quidditch. Realizing that it would take some time to fully reach her dream, Ginny began work in the Department of Magical Games and Sports, hoping that one day she would be able to move away from the desk and onto a broomstick.

New circumstances, however, changed all of her expectations.

When Ginny began to feel nauseous and under the weather, she initially attributed it to stress from work. But when she realized that her Department was perhaps the most relaxed in the entire Ministry, she thought otherwise. It wasn't until Ron and Harry had been gone for three weeks that logic finally kicked in, and Ginny realized just what kind of trouble she might have gotten herself into.

The first step was to confide in someone – Hermione. Although Hermione was surprised with what Ginny was asking her to do, she was determined to be a good friend, one that would help Ginny no matter what happened. A homemade potion and a Muggle test later, Ginny confirmed what she feared – she was pregnant.

Immediately, Ginny saw many things fall apart at once. She thought of her parents, who expected much out of their only daughter. She thought of her dream to become a Quidditch player and saw it vanish. She thought of herself, and where she would go and what she would do with her life now that she had another one to take care of. And most importantly, she thought of Harry, a thousand miles away with no clue of the consequences of their firewhisky escapades. She refused to tell him through letter, a decision that, unfortunately, also eliminated telling him altogether. Knowing that becoming an Auror was important to Harry, Ginny couldn't bring herself to interrupt his training and distract him with this news, or worse, bring him back home. She wouldn't take responsibility for two broken dreams.

However, Hermione assured her that not all was lost. Her parents, she helped her realize, were understanding people, and they would help Ginny with all of her needs. She promised her that she would be there for Ginny as a friend, and that she would be her support in every way possible. All of her encouragement helped Ginny finally understand that she could, with proper timing and handling, be a mother _and_ be the woman that she always wanted to be.

But what Hermione couldn't offer her was Harry. Even with all of her friends and family behind her, Ginny still felt lost without Harry. And now she would have to bring their child into the world without him at her side.

* * *

Molly and Arthur Weasley were always kind and understanding parents. But when their only daughter informed them that she was pregnant with the child of their son's best friend, they were not prepared in the slightest. However, they knew that it was their job, as parents, to continue to love Ginny unconditionally and offer her support. And for that, Ginny was incredibly grateful.

Although Ginny wanted to make a fresh start for herself, she knew that it wasn't the smartest idea financially or even practically speaking. If she stayed at the Burrow, like her parents pleaded her to do so, she wouldn't have to pay for anything other than what the baby needed, and she would always have babysitters on hand. This way, she could be a mother and still work. The way she looked at it, she would proceed through the pregnancy and by the time Harry came home, the baby would be several months old and the two of them could discuss moving out and into their own place.

Fortunately, the head of Ginny's department was very good friends with Arthur. He was very accommodating and provided Ginny with a workplace conducive to her pregnancy and also offered her an extended maternity leave in which she could work from home if she desired. He would occasionally pull strings for her so that she could go watch complimentary Quidditch games and, in a way, have fun for herself under the guise of doing Ministry work. Also, by having Kingsley Shacklebolt as Minister of Magic, Ginny was always in good hands whenever she went to work. Ginny made Kingsley promise not to let the news of her pregnancy slip to Harry, a promise that he kept.

Harry very rarely ever left Ginny's mind. Even as her pregnancy progressed and everything started to become baby-centered, she would think of him. She often pictured alternate realities in which Harry wasn't away on Auror training and he was actually there to be with Ginny, waiting in eager anticipation for the birth of their child. She wondered how he would react when the baby first started kicking, whether or not he would want to know the sex of the baby, or the decorations he would pick when it came to designing the nursery. Sometimes, she would even think of a diamond ring – a proposal, to be specific – and wedding plans that would coincide with their baby plans.

_I would want to get married before having the baby_, Ginny would think. _I would wear a white gown that would emphasize my stomach to show the world that we aren't hiding our love for each other…there would be white flowers…white ribbon…white everything…_

But she often found herself saddened after having those thoughts. A wedding was unlikely, if not entirely impossible in the next couple of months. The only constant in her life was her ever-expanding belly, which was a perpetual reminder that she would soon be a mother. Whenever she thought of Harry and how he would react along each step of the pregnancy, she halfheartedly went through the motions herself. When the baby first started kicking, she thought of him. When she had the option of finding out the sex of the baby, she chose not to know. When she had to start designing the nursery, she second-guessed the decorations she liked best, wondering if Harry would like them, as well. Hermione began to worry for her. She thought she had too much Harry on the brain.

To make matters worse, a letter came for Ginny in her eighth month of pregnancy, the first letter from Harry in over two months.

_Dear Ginny,_

_You won't believe it! Ron and I have been doing such an incredible job lately (we're in the Mediterranean right now) that Kingsley offered us an interim position in the American Ministry of Magic for additional experience. He only selected a handful of us, so you can imagine how amazing of an opportunity this is! The only downside is that it'll be another year of Ministry work not even until another three months, but we'll be in America! You and I have always discussed how we wanted to see the world, so I'll be here taking pictures for you. It'll almost be like you're with me._

_I miss you greatly, and don't worry, Ron and I have written letters to everyone else informing them of our yearlong stay in America. Who knows? Perhaps we'll do such an extraordinary job there, too, that we'll come home early. _

_I hope that you've followed through with your promise to me and that you've been keeping yourself happy. However, I do hope that if you've met anyone (have you?), that you'll tell me all about him. He better be fantastic and have saved the Wizarding world at least once in his life! I'm only kidding, of course. But really, I hope you're happy and as much as I regret putting our reunion off for another year, I know that you're proud of me and your brother. _

_Okay, well, I've got to go now. I'm sure Ron's gotten himself into another predicament with the Muggle appliances in our hotel room, and I'm off to save him. Regards to everyone there!_

_Love always,_

_Harry_

Reading and rereading the letter sent a sharp blow to Ginny's hopes for a family for their child. Another year and three months? She couldn't imagine coming back from two years' worth of absence. And the part about her being happy made her the saddest she had been in a long time. Here she was, actually pining for him, and he had given her complete clearance to be with other men. She wished to write a vindictive letter back to him, revealing her pregnancy and demanding that he come home to be with her and their baby, which was due in less than a month. But she knew that Harry wanted her to be happy, and that she would want that for him, too.

* * *

It was February fifteenth, the day following a particularly lonesome Valentine's Day spent with Hermione that Ginny began to feel the earliest signs of labor pangs. The Burrow was inexplicably empty that day, save for Hermione, who brought her to St. Mungo's. Once there, they met up with the rest of the Weasley clan.

Ginny had a foolish sense of hope in the back of her mind that on this special day, Harry would miraculously appear out of nowhere to coach her and be by her side. Yet she knew better. She excused her tears for Harry as tears of labor.

For Ginny, labor lasted a grueling nineteen hours, all through which Bill, Charlie, Fred and George (Percy couldn't be there) came up with numerous magic tricks to pass the time and humor their younger sister. However, she was hardly amused. With the pain from the approaching birth and thoughts of Harry, she couldn't imagine labor getting any worse.

Fortunately, she was rewarded near midnight, when she gave birth to a small yet handsome baby boy. From the moment she saw his thin strands of black hair and he opened his bright brown eyes, she knew he was her son.

She decided to name him Liam.

Following the birth, Ginny spent a short three days in the hospital, where Liam was kept in an incubator shortly due to his small size. While in bed, Ginny went through stacks of parchment trying to write a letter to Harry and inform him of his new son. But having Liam surprisingly changed something in her. As much as she wanted Harry to be there with her, her needs shifted from focusing on bringing Harry back to taking care of their son. Liam was front and center now. Harry would be a close second.

* * *

Ginny's life came to a sort of resolve following Liam's birth. No longer was she sad and lonely over Harry's absence. Having Liam in her life certainly changed things and made them brighter. She loved being a mother and she couldn't imagine being away from her son at all. Everyone at the Burrow loved him, and he was constantly the center of attention. Molly and Arthur couldn't help but boast their new grandson, and Hermione loved being Auntie Hermione. There were days where Ginny actually wanted to work away from home and at the Ministry just so she could bring Liam in and show everyone just how well-behaved her son was. He rarely ever cried and was always cooperative with those that took care of him. Ginny loved to love her son.

It was almost drastic how quick Harry fell from the limelight in Ginny's mind. She would always love him, there was no doubt about that, and having their son didn't exactly mean that she was completely rid of him. However, she wasn't as willing to pick up their relationship where they had left it. She actually wanted to take Harry's advice and be happy for herself. Once Liam was almost seven months old, she realized that as much as she loved Liam, she would love it if she had a man in her life, as well. Even Hermione encouraged her to go out and make herself known to the world. Whatever it took to make Ginny her strong self again, Hermione was supportive by all means.

However, Ginny found that having a son complicated starting relationships a bit. They always seemed to grow a little bit intimidated once they discovered that she was a mother. She couldn't exactly understand how grown men could be held back by such a sweet and timid little child. She almost found it entertaining to see men come up with excuses to avoid meeting her son, but she always grew a little bit irritated when relationships that she believed she could invest in would go to waste due to sheer ignorance.

But all that changed when Ginny met Wyatt Collins one fateful day at the Ministry.

Wyatt Collins had been trying to get season tickets to the Holyhead Harpies for almost a year to no avail. He went straight to the Ministry, where he met Ginny on one of the only days in the week that she actually worked from the office. From his perfectly-coiffed brown hair, charming blue eyes, and Olympian features, Ginny was immediately attracted. And as soon as he took notice of her bright brown eyes and gorgeous red hair, the Holyhead Harpies were out and Ginny Weasley was in.

The two took their relationship slowly getting to know one another. When Ginny let out the deal breaker and informed him of Liam, he was surprisingly receptive and wanted to get to know him. In return, he informed her of one of his own secrets: he was a Squib. He had managed to fit in successfully with Muggle society as a college professor. He was also well-versed in magical teachings, teachings that he passed on to other Squib children that wanted to learn from him. As if his charitable nature and patience weren't enough to win Ginny over, he was great with children, as made obvious from his great relationship with Liam.

Up to a certain point, the two of them had only been going out for coffee and the occasional lunch so as not to interrupt Ginny's time with Liam at night. But one day, he finally got the courage to ask her out properly, the first man to do so after learning about Liam.

"Dinner?" Ginny asked, taken aback. "Are you sure you want to do that?"

"Of course. Why wouldn't I?"

Ginny blushed slightly. "I'm not so sure. After all…Liam…"

"I won't try to replace his father, I promise you that," he said. He had no idea that Liam's father was the great Harry Potter. "Just one dinner. And if you, for some reason, don't enjoy my company then, we can continue with the normal coffee routine."

"You're so sure of yourself."

"It's innocent."

"Innocent?"

"As innocent as innocent gets." He winked at her.

She let herself go to dinner with him and, as a result, let herself fall even deeper into their blossoming relationship and away from the possibilities of Harry.

Ginny just hoped that Liam wouldn't be calling him "Da-da" any time soon.

* * *

**AN:** Clearly, just with the existence of Liam and with Fred still alive, _Keepsake_ is in a slightly different canon. Call me optimistic, but I like the just-a-little-bit-happier alternate reality. I hope you liked this chapter, which was supposed to be a small but sweeping view into Ginny's life without Harry before we move into the bulk of the story. Read and review! [:


	3. At Last

**KEEPSAKE  
Post-Seven; Harry returns from Auror training to find Ginny with a one-year-old son that she claims to be theirs.**

**Disclaimer: All JKR's work.**

**

* * *

**

**THREE: At Last**

Ginny's relationship with Wyatt had grown to become something of a hot topic within the Burrow. The two had only known each other for two months and yet there was no denying their attraction and affection for one another. And as wonderful as it was for Ginny to have immersed herself in a new and healthy relationship, her family and friends couldn't help but wonder whether or not what she had with Wyatt was the real deal or if it was a way of ignoring her feelings for Harry.

Molly was naturally concerned, especially for the well-being of her grandson. She wanted Liam to grow up with a normal family, and she certainly didn't want Ginny exposing him to men that would inevitably disappear, especially with his father out of the picture. She wanted her daughter to be happy, of course, but the sentimental side of her wished Harry was there to bridge the gaps in her life. Hermione, on the other hand, tried her hardest to keep her disapproval to a minimum. She figured that if she could wait two years for Ron, then Ginny could do the same. If anything, she owed it to their son. Although she would never say it, Hermione thought that Ginny was taking the easy way out. It wasn't that she didn't like Wyatt – he was actually very friendly and charismatic – but she simply wanted things to stay the way they were _supposed_ to be.

Of course, Ginny noticed all of this. No one ever approached her, not even her older brothers who were always involving themselves in her romantic entanglements. She figured that it was probably just Ron who did most of the butting-in, but she expected some sort of intervention from the twins in his place. But as long as that didn't happen, and as long as she and Liam were happy with Wyatt, she saw no need to jump ship. In fact, she was the happiest she had been in a long time.

Wyatt clearly cared for Ginny, and Ginny couldn't deny that she cared for him, as well. Even though she kept him in the dark about Harry's identity, Wyatt understood that if and when Liam's father returned, he would have to take a slight step back. He didn't want to get in the middle of anything; he made that obvious from the beginning.

But for every good thing in her relationship with Wyatt, Ginny couldn't help but think of Harry. Sure, she didn't think of him as much these days, but a part of her always wondered "What if this was Harry?" Their relationship seemed like a distant schoolgirl memory, almost like puppy love. They had never given a mature relationship a chance, so after a while, it was as if she had no way of remembering what it was like to be with Harry. It was no puppy love, but what was it exactly? There were times she wished she knew.

And as blissful as it was to forget Harry for a while, Ginny was slowly reminded more and more of him, especially as Liam grew older. Her son was fast becoming a miniature of his father. Although he sported her bright brown eyes, his hair rapidly went from thin wisps of black into a big tuft of unruly jet black hair that reminded Ginny strongly of Harry. Whenever she made him laugh, he would smile in a way that was reminiscent of the man she would never stop loving; even his giggle was as sheepish as his father's. His arms and legs were thin and long, even for a baby's, suggesting that he would one day have Harry's lanky limbs as well. When he finally turned one, he stumbled around the Burrow in the same awkward fashion as Harry. Liam's parentage was made most obvious by his first word, which was a clear result of his mother's occupation (and perhaps even Harry's old Quidditch position).

"Sitch," he would exclaim excitedly, a child's endearing version of the gold, winged ball. "Sitch! Sitch! Sitch!"

"Exactly," Ginny said proudly, watching her son play on the hardwood floor of their room. "Oh, now be careful. Don't swallow that, Lee."

Liam flailed his arms wildly, one of his pudgy hands grasping a toy Snitch tightly. This was the first time Ginny was able to trust him with such a swallow-able toy.

"Someone is excited, isn't he?" Ginny asked playfully as she stealthily attempted to slip a bootie onto his tiny foot.

"Aren't we all?" Hermione said, as she entered the room with a bottle of warm milk. "I have lunch, Lee!"

"Thank you, Auntie Hermione," Ginny said in her best baby voice. "Do you mind feeding him this time? I can't remember the last time I haven't had formula on my clothing."

"Trying to look your best?" Hermione suggested coyly.

"Well, I don't want to look _homely_, do I? I'm still young. I can look good." Ginny stood up from her seated position on the floor and adjusted her blouse. "I haven't fit into this since before Liam. It's going to be a good day."

"Of course it is!" Hermione said as she fed Liam. "Someone's meeting Daddy for the first time today!"

Liam squirmed excitedly and made a small gurgling noise, causing a small trail of milk to trickle down the side of his mouth. Ginny rushed in and wiped it away with a cloth.

"I think we're both a little nervous, to be completely honest."

"Well, you have to reveal the existence of an entire person. I don't blame you."

Ginny sighed. "I've spent the past two years waiting for this day, and now that it's here, I wish it wasn't. I've had twenty-four months to come up with a way of telling Harry that he's a father, and the best I can come up with is 'Here you go!' before handing him over!"

"Are you sure that that's _all_ you're nervous about?"

Ginny arched her brow. "What do you mean?"

"Well…Liam isn't the _only_ one that you're revealing to Harry today. What about Wyatt?"

"What about Wyatt?"

"He's a rather important part of your life now, isn't he?"

"Yes," Ginny said simply. "_My_ life, not Harry's."

"But he's a part of Liam's life. Don't you owe it to Harry? Didn't he tell you to introduce him to whomever it was that was responsible for your newfound happiness?"

"I'd feel as though I were rubbing it in his face if I did," Ginny said. "I know that there's no relationship to speak of now and that he's only the father of my child at this point, but I have a feeling that Harry won't take well to the news."

Hermione shrugged. "But he still has a right to know. If Harry had met someone, wouldn't you want to know?"

The mere thought of Harry having met someone tore through Ginny's insides like a serrated knife. That was something she hadn't been expecting.

_But I wouldn't want to be a hypocrite, would I?_

"Where is Wyatt anyway?" Hermione asked, wiping the sides of Liam's mouth with her thumb.

"He's teaching. I told him to visit later if he wanted to, so that he could meet Liam's father."

"What a surprise he's in for," Hermione said.

"I suppose…come here to Mummy, Lee!" Ginny extended her arms to her newly-fed son, who teetered on his way to her. She embraced him and lifted him into the air, causing him to giggle and squeal with glee. "I love my little boy, yes I do."

Molly suddenly appeared in the doorway. "Let's go downstairs everyone. The boys should be home soon." She walked over to her daughter holding her grandson and pinched his cheeks excitedly. "This is a big day for everyone."

Ginny groaned inwardly. She wished everyone would stop making this day such a commotion. Surely it was a big day for Ron and Harry, who were coming home for the first time in two years. But for her and Liam…she didn't want to draw attention to it. But as a small way of acknowledging today for herself, she wore a locket that Harry gave her for her eighteenth birthday. She kept it hidden beneath her hair and under her blouse.

Downstairs, the excitement was palpable. Her parents were ready to see their son, the big Auror at last. Hermione was just as ready to see Ron, so that they might finally get their relationship going somewhere. After Ginny put Liam in the kitchen in his play pen, where he might wait until the commotion of their arrival had died down, she realized that she was excited, too. As she had said, it had been two years, and whatever lay in store for her and Harry, it didn't cancel the fact that she longed to see him again.

"Why aren't they taking Floo again?" Ginny asked.

"Ron wanted to try riding in a cab," Arthur explained. "One of those Muggle things, you know? But it won't be able to drop them off on the premises, so they'll be walking from where they're dropped off, just a quarter of a mile away."

"Like father, like son," said Mrs. Weasley.

Suddenly, someone knocked on the door. Excitement filled the room and Ginny couldn't help but feel a bit breathless. Mrs. Weasley nearly stumbled on her way to the door and took in a deep breath as she opened it. But, as with everyone else in the room, she let out a small sigh of disappointment when she realized it wasn't Harry and Ron standing in the doorway.

"Hello everyone," Wyatt said nervously as he stepped foot into the sitting room. "Have I…done something? Everyone looks a bit disheartened."

"Oh, it's not you," Mrs. Weasley explained sympathetically. "It's just that we've been waiting for their arrival for some time now, and we thought it might have been you."

Wyatt frowned apologetically. "They're not here yet? I thought I might have finally gotten the opportunity to meet Ginny's old flame."

"What're you doing here so early?" Ginny asked as she reached over to kiss Wyatt's cheek. From the corner of her eye, she saw Hermione look over disapprovingly. "I thought you were teaching."

"Class ended early," he explained. "One of the perks of teaching it. Where's Liam?"

"In the kitchen. I'm still deciding how to introduce him to his father."

"Well, seeing as I'm about to meet the bloke very soon, would you tell me his name already?" As Wyatt said this, everyone in the room couldn't help but listen in and keep deliberately quiet. Ginny had asked all of them not to mention Harry's name to Wyatt just yet. Truthfully, she was still deciding how to introduce him to Harry, as well.

"That's what introductions are for," Ginny said, grabbing his arm and taking him to the kitchen with her. "Besides, I'm fairly sure you'll recognize him when you see him."

A look of genuine interest, and perhaps worry, crossed Wyatt's face. "Ginny Weasley, you'd better not be introducing me to a Quidditch player. I'm in no right state to meet someone of that caliber."

"Oh no," Ginny said distractedly. She kept looking over shoulder at the door as she pushed Wyatt towards Liam's play pen. "No caliber – I mean, not of _that_ caliber. Would you do me a favor and take Liam out to the garden to play? He hasn't been out all day and I don't necessarily want to crowd the room when they get here, you know?"

Wyatt may not have understood Ginny at all times, and he may have wondered just how much more mysterious she could get, but he was patient with her. He loved her enough to let everything take its course in due time. He stroked her cheek with his palm and smiled.

"You worry me at times, Ginny."

Ginny smiled up at him and kissed him once more before wordlessly leaving the two men in her life in the kitchen.

As soon as she stepped back into the sitting room, Hermione grabbed Ginny's arm and pulled her aside, far enough so that no one else could hear their conversation.

"What do you plan on doing now?" Hermione whispered. "Now that you've got both your son and your boyfriend in the back room?"

Ginny shook her head, as though doing so would shake reality away as well. "I'm – I'm not exactly sure yet!"

There was another knock on the door and the entire room was excited once more. Two figures in the clouded glass of the door clearly indicated that Ron and Harry were definitely here. Ginny clutched at her chest and inhaled deeply. Her throat was very dry and her mind was racing as fast as her heart; as much as she had dreamed of this moment, as much as she had perfected every scenario in her head over the past two years, nothing could have prepared her for now.

Mrs. Weasley opened the door and immediately embraced the first of the two that she could get her hands on. Everyone in the room converged towards the door, including Hermione. Ginny stayed behind and observed from afar, wondering who it was that her mother had hugged first. As soon as she saw a tuft of red hair through the crowd of family members, she realized it was Ron. His head stuck out of the crowd at last, and Ginny saw her brother for the first time in two years. She noticed that he looked the same, if not a bit more adult and casual, as though he had been away on a spa and not Auror training.

Ginny headed over and gave her brother a hug as well. He whispered something in her ear, something that must have been a playful comment on her matronly appearance and her general disposition, but she did not hear it. Instead, her eyes focused on someone else, someone that everyone else had drawn their attention to but had fixed his eyes on Ginny. Still in her brother's arms, she was breathless and relieved all at once.

"Harry."


	4. Revelations

**KEEPSAKE  
Post-Seven; Harry returns from Auror training to find Ginny with a one-year-old son that she claims to be theirs.**

**Disclaimer: All JKR's work.

* * *

**

**FOUR: Revelations**

"Harry," Ginny uttered breathlessly.

The room became very quiet and she could feel everyone's eyes drilling holes into the back of her skull, examining every inch of her and wondering what her next course of action would be. As she became aware of all of this, she didn't have the slightest idea of what to do next, either.

Harry was still Harry, except not exactly so. Similar to Ron, he had a certain quality about him that she couldn't place, something that indicated newfound maturity but familiarity. Was it his hair? No, it wasn't; it was as messy as ever. She wondered if it was in the way that he held himself, but he was as lanky as before and as unsure of what to do with his limbs just as she remembered. If anything, he just seemed _older_, and it wasn't necessarily anything that she had any qualms with. The fact of the matter was that Harry was standing in front of her, his eyes meeting hers, and she hadn't the foggiest idea of what to do.

"Ginny!" Harry finally exclaimed, breaking off what seemed like an eternity of eye contact. "Merlin, you haven't changed!"

He rushed in for a hug and as she opened her arms to receive him, her eyes scanned the entire room to discover that everyone stood still, as though on the cusp of some large revelation. She ignored them for a moment and enjoyed the hug, holding Harry tight in her arms and inhaling as much of him as she could. She was pleased to see how familiar the action felt yet surprised at the butterflies that he brought about in her stomach. She closed her eyes eagerly for all of a second, and they pulled apart.

"Gorgeous as ever," Harry said, looking Ginny up and down. "You stopped writing."

"_You_ stopped writing," she rebutted.

"America," he said simply, and Ginny just stared at him.

"Oh, come on everyone! Into the kitchen for food and American tales. Harry, Ron! Let's go!" Molly rushed as many people into the kitchen as she could. Hermione eyed Ginny knowingly as she walked past her, and Ginny knew what she had to do.

Before Harry could join the rest of the traveling crowd, Ginny grabbed his sleeve and pulled him towards her.

"You've only just gotten here and all," she said, "but do you think we could talk? It's rather important."

Harry smiled. "No worries, I'm not that hungry anyway. Where do you want to talk?"

"Just here is fine," Ginny said, indicating the now-empty living room. She sat down on one of the couches, and Harry followed suit.

The two sat in silence for a good minute, with neither one of them capable of breaking it. Ginny didn't want to ruin the moment just yet, enjoying the semblance of her life with Harry two years ago, before all of the changes that he had yet to know, of the changes that she would have to inform him. Harry didn't seem to mind either, his eyes situated solely on Ginny and nothing else around her.

"I missed you," Harry said. "Being with you now is like something out of a dream."

Ginny couldn't help but smile warmly. "I know. I missed you, too. Two years was a long time to go without seeing each other."

"Ron and I wanted to visit," Harry assured her. "But it was impossible, what with our schedules and the impracticalities of transcontinental Floo travel. We simply couldn't."

"I understand. I just wish you had written more."

"Well, your letters got shorter and shorter, and I figured you were off living your life and I certainly didn't want to get in the way of that. As long as you knew where I was and how to contact me, I didn't expect much else."

"And I wanted to," Ginny spoke truthfully. "But...I became busy."

"I gathered as much. And that's good that you did. You look more mature now. Something has changed about you, and I can't pinpoint it."

"I could say the same about you."

"I guess you could," Harry said with a laugh. "I just never expected everything to be so different yet so familiar all at once. I actually contemplated staying behind, you know."

"Really?"

"Not seriously, of course. It was always nothing more than a minute of thought. But it was always curious to me, what it would be like to start all over again."

"To be American?"

Harry laughed again. "Well, it was only a thought. But tell me! Tell me everything new with you, everything that I missed out on. We've got until everyone in there has finished eating."

Ginny's head started spinning. She didn't know how to approach the subject.

Instead, she began with, "I work for the Ministry now, although not nearly in the same capacity as I was working when I first started two years ago. I work for the Department of Magical Games and Sports."

"Blimey, that's great, Ginny! I guess we'll be seeing each other at work then."

"Yeah," Ginny said weakly, her mind still wrapped around the other subject.

"Tell me, though," Harry said, comparatively more serious compared to his previous tone. "Have you met anyone? Another bloke?"

She felt her cheeks flush immediately, and she realized that there was no way around it.

"Actually, I have," she said. "His name is Wyatt."

If she had expected Harry's face to deflate, to switch from curious to betrayed, it didn't happen. Instead, he just smiled widely at her.

"That's fantastic, Ginny. Really, that's great."

Ginny nodded. "Yeah, he's a good guy. He's a Squib, but he's knowledgeable about everything magical, and he works as a college professor in the Muggle world."

"That's good," he said. "How long have you two been together?"

"About eight months. He's outside actually-"

"Bloody hell, it's Harry Potter!"

Ginny looked up and saw Wyatt standing before them, awestruck and dumbfounded by the third person in the room. He rushed over to them.

"You're - it's - Harry Potter! You're Ginny's old flame?"

Harry stood up to give Wyatt a handshake. "I guess you could say that. And you're Wyatt!"

"Yes, I am," Wyatt said, shaking Harry's hand. "Blimey Ginny, you never told me that Harry Potter was - oh, Merlin!"

"I told you that you would recognize him instantly," Ginny said rather wearily as she stood up, too.

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Harry said politely after shaking hands.

"This is - I wish I could stay longer, but I just found out that I have to go back into town for a meeting with the dean of our university. But this is unbelievable! We need to have dinner, the three of us, I insist!"

"What?" Ginny asked, taken aback.

"Of course," Harry said, looking at Ginny with a smile. "Dinner sounds fantastic."

"Wonderful," Wyatt said, still somewhat startled. "I have to go now, but I'll see you soon, Mr. Potter."

"Harry," Harry clarified, shaking Wyatt's hand once more to say goodbye.

"Of course." Wyatt turned to Ginny and kissed her on the cheek before whispering in her ear, "Lee's outside with Hermione. And you've got some explaining to do, miss." He smiled at her, made an awkward little bow in Harry's direction, and left the house.

Ginny sighed. "He's a bit starstruck, obviously."

"Looks like a good guy, though," Harry said.

"Thanks. He definitely is...I should have told you, though."

Harry shook his head. "It's perfectly fine. It's only been a couple of months."

"I promised you, though. I know you would have done the same."

"Only if there had been anyone noteworthy to report," he clarified.

And suddenly, Ginny felt a pang of guilt. A part of her wondered if, in spite of his emphasis on her happiness, Harry had expected something to start again once he got home. She knew that, inside of her, there was the same expectation, and yet she was almost certain that he would meet someone on his travels and that she would be the one left pining for him.

"There was no one?"

Harry shrugged. "No one serious enough. For the first few weeks in America, I met someone from Britain as well and I thought perhaps, but she was transferred to another branch and I never talked to her again. That was it."

"I see."

"Don't feel guilty, Ginny," Harry added immediately when he saw Ginny's slight frown.

"I'm not," she insisted.

"I can tell," Harry reminded her. "I'm happy for you, I really am."

"Thank you, Harry."

"Hey, the two of you," came a voice from behind them. "What're you doing out here?"

Ron walked into the living room, looking immensely relieved that he had escaped from the kitchen.

"Mum's been begging me to start the slideshow, but I don't know where the damned laptop is, much less how to operate it. I'm telling you, everyone's gone mental in there. You'd think we'd been gone for centuries."

"We can set it up later," Harry told him. "Did you meet Ginny's boyfriend?"

Ginny's face flushed once more.

"Oh yeah, the bloke came through the kitchen just enough to make a brief introduction. Who is this Wyatt character, Ginny?"

"Oh, hush Ron," Ginny said. "Give it a rest and you'll get to meet him in a proper light soon. Mum and Dad know, at any rate."

Ron grumbled something under his breath before plopping down on the couch. "It's nice to be back home."

"Yeah," Harry said, sitting down beside Ron.

Ginny's thoughts turned to Liam once more, who was outside with Hermione. She hoped that Ron hadn't seen him yet, or that anyone in the kitchen had mentioned him. But from the looks of it, it wasn't a problem. However, she wouldn't be able to keep Liam outside for long, and Hermione would have to bring him inside eventually, meaning that she couldn't hold off any longer on telling Harry the truth. He had met Wyatt, and she was just grateful that Wyatt hadn't mentioned anything to Harry about his son. Now was the time to do it.

"Oi, what's the matter, Ginny?" Ron asked. "You've got a look on your face."

Ginny looked over at Harry quickly, who was eyeing her curiously as well.

"It's nothing. I mean, it's - well, I've just got to - Hermione - out in the back-"

"What?" Harry and Ron asked in unison.

But before Ginny could answer, the door behind them opened once more, and another voice replied.

"Sitch! Sitch!"

Liam tumbled awkwardly through the door in search of his golden plaything, his legs not so used to walking just yet. He crawled a couple feet towards Ginny before quitting altogether and staying rooted to his spot, arms extended eagerly outwards.

"My sitch?" he asked, grabbing at the air.

_Oh no_, Ginny thought as rushed to her son, panic swelling inside along with motherly instincts.

"Here Lee, I have the snitch!" she said as she pulled her son's toy out of her pocket and handed it to him. "Don't worry, baby. Where's your Aunt Hermione?" She could feel Harry and Ron's stares piercing the back of her neck.

"Damn! He got away from me!" Hermione cried out as she ran into the room, obviously realizing the magnitude of Liam's escape from her custody. "He said he was hungry, so I brought him in for a bite and before I knew it, he was out of my sight. I'm so sorry."

"It's okay," Ginny said as she scooped her son into her arms.

There was no avoiding it now. This was the only way. From his mother's arms, Liam looked at Ron and Harry on the couch, both obviously shocked and confused by what had just transpired, neither fully certain of what it was that they were seeing.

"He's - um, Ginny?" Ron managed to get out, absorbing the image of his younger sister holding the nephew he didn't know. The unruly black hair was unmistakable, just as the brown eyes that echoed Ginny's were. Yet in his shock, he had nothing more to say.

Harry, on the other hand, didn't know what he was seeing. All he gathered was that Ginny was holding a child and acting rather maternally. That was all he was capable of processing, and yet that was enough.

"You had a child," Harry croaked.

Hermione brushed past Ginny as she made her way to pull Ron off the couch and into the kitchen behind her, where she would undoubtedly fill him in on the finer details that Ginny would rather explain only to Harry at the moment. Ron wasn't too keen on leaving at first, nor was he entirely capable, but Hermione managed to pull him off and drag him away, leaving Harry alone with Ginny and Liam in her arms.

"I had a child," Ginny told him. Liam cooed playfully in her arms, dangling the snitch by its wing as she stared Harry straight in the eye.

Harry stood up and approached Ginny slowly, his eyes switching between looking at her and looking at the toddler in her arms.

"Wyatt's?" he asked initially. But as he moved closer and observed longer, he knew otherwise. Everything was self-explanatory. Appearances alone were telling; Ginny had red hair and Wyatt had brown. Black was not a byproduct of either.

Finally, Harry looked Ginny knowingly in the eye and she understood that Harry knew.

* * *

**AN:** This chapter update is delayed by a year, and I apologize, but I hope you guys liked it, and I can assure you that I'm writing more!


	5. The Truth

**KEEPSAKE  
Post-Seven; Harry returns from Auror training to find Ginny with a one-year-old son that she claims to be theirs.**

**Disclaimer: All JKR's work.**

* * *

**FIVE: The Truth**

All of the air seemed to have been sucked out of the room. Harry's eyes may have fixated on Ginny, but he couldn't see. His senses were seemingly overwhelmed by this latest discovery. The boy in Ginny's arms was not a mirage; he was as real as Wyatt was, and as real as being back at home was. And yet he had difficulty reconciling his imagined reality with the one in front of him.

"Harry?" Ginny grew concerned for his silence.

"Erm..." He could hardly utter complete words. Did everyone else know? His mind drifted to Hermione and Ron in the kitchen, and he wondered what she was telling him and if everyone inside was either laughing at him or pressed against the door, waiting for him to say something. "How old...is he?"

"Fifteen months in two weeks." Ginny was relieved and hoped that the following questions would be as easy to answer.

Harry gulped. "His name is Liam?"

"Liam James," she replied. "Lee for short."

Harry's mind was reeling and it took a considerable amount of effort to keep from getting sick right there at Ginny's feet. Liam James. Well, there was the truth, no doubt about it. Looking at Ginny was too much of a task, so he kept his gaze instead on Liam, who was eyeing him back curiously. Liam had just now taken into consideration the strange man standing in front of him, a man he'd never seen before.

In the lull, Hermione walked in from behind Ginny looking particularly tired.

"Ron knows now," she explained. "Not everything, but enough. Your mum occupied him by force-feeding him an eclair."

Ginny nodded, clutching Liam tighter to her chest. "Thanks, Hermione."

"You knew?" Harry suddenly demanded of Hermione. "You knew and didn't tell me?"

Hermione looked at Ginny, then to Harry, then back to Ginny before going back to Harry to give him an answer.

"I - It wasn't my place to mention anything," she said, mustering as much logic and empathy as she could into her words. "It was Ginny's decision to make, not mine. You have to understand."

Hermione didn't know if Harry understood or not, because he immediately ran upstairs without so much as another word. She turned to Ginny, but she met her with the same confusion.

"I'm hungry, Ma," Liam groaned, rubbing his belly in need.

"Take him, won't you?" Ginny handed Liam off to Hermione. "I'll take care of Harry."

"Good luck," Hermione offered before heading back into the kitchen with Liam in tow.

Ginny stood there for a while, feeling rather stupid. In her own home, she never felt the desire to leave as strongly as she did now. She felt terrible for relying on Hermione so much when it came to Liam. In the next room, her entire family was undoubtedly making a fuss over her son, while Ron was probably unsure of what to do with his newly discovered nephew. As for Harry, she hadn't the slightest idea regarding his abrupt departure. She made the decision to follow him upstairs, as daunting as the possible consequences were.

She figured he would be in Ron's old room and with that knowledge, each of her steps in that direction were slow and deliberate in her attempt to delay the inevitable. She didn't know what sent Harry up here in such a rush, but she didn't want to aggravate or fluster him any more than he probably already was. She simply wanted to reason with him, to explain her actions to him and maybe even apologize if it came to that. Starting off on the wrong foot was not something she wanted to happen.

Walking into the room, Ginny saw Harry bent over his bags frantically searching for something.

"What's so urgent?" Ginny asked, trying to remain aloof.

Harry grunted in response without looking up. But within moments, he shot up with a stack of envelopes in his hand, looking as though he had overcome some new challenge.

"What are those?"

Harry flipped through all the envelopes and as he did so, Ginny saw the handwriting and addresses on each, and she knew what he was doing.

"None of these," Harry said firmly. "None of these mentioned him once. I read every letter more than once, and not once was there mention of your pregnancy, that he had been born, that I had _a son_!"

"Harry, please," Ginny pleaded. "Come downstairs and talk with me."

"No, not downstairs where everyone can hear us," Harry said, sitting on the bed. "Here is as fine a place as any to tell me that I have a son. To tell me everything!"

"I wanted to tell you so badly," Ginny started, sitting beside Harry. "How could I not want to tell you? As soon as I found out, my first instinct was to send an owl your way with the news. But how could I?"

"What do you mean? How could you not?"

"Think for a moment, Harry," Ginny said. "You were at Auror training. What would you have wanted me to do? You said it yourself, you wanted to be an excellent Auror, and I wasn't going to let anything get in the way of that."

"That wasn't your decision to make. I had the right to know, and the right to decide whether or not I wanted to resume my training."

Ginny looked at him sympathetically now, ignoring the sudden desire to reach out and touch his cheek. "You've spent so much of your life bound to responsibility without ever having a choice. Going to become an Auror was one of your first _real_ choices, and I would have never denied you the chance to finally take control of your life. The moment you would have read my owl, you would have come straight back home and as much as I appreciate you for that, we both know that it wouldn't have been what you wanted. I couldn't be responsible for yet another reason that you had to forsake your passion."

Harry couldn't argue with that. He was so blinded by his insistence on knowing that he hadn't considered the other consequences - bitterness, guilt, remorse - had he given up his Auror training.

"But still," he said. "This was my son. I've spent the past fifteen months of his life not knowing that he was here."

"You know now, and that's what matters. Liam is too young right now, but trust me when I tell you that he's better to have known you now than not at all. He needs his father."

"But Wyatt-" The words fell from his lips before he could stop them.

Ginny kept her eyes on the ground, watching her feet as she folded them on top of each other, away from each other, and on top of each other again.

"Wyatt has been a good father figure for Liam. He's been kind and loving, and he treats Liam as though he were his own. But he could never replace you, Harry, nor would he ever want to. Believe me."

Harry did. He sighed heavily and longed to just fall backwards and fall asleep on the bed. But his thoughts would have prevented him from doing so, and he knew he wouldn't rest until he felt some sort of resolve before the day ended. He'd been back home hardly an hour, and his entire life had changed.

"This is amazing," he finally said, looking straight at Ginny. "We're parents, you and I."

Ginny smiled and felt happiness swell within her. "It's such a foreign feeling at first, but equally wonderful. Suddenly, you're responsible for this new life that you never knew you could love so much. It's unconditional, really."

"How is he? I mean, does he take more after you or me?" Curiosity replaced any anger Harry had before.

"You," Ginny said without hesitation. "You saw it yourself downstairs. He's got your mop of black hair on his head, and he never goes anywhere without his little golden snitch. He's a mischievous little boy at times, and yet he takes after me in that he mellows out after a while. He was my little piece of you while you were gone."

All of Harry's emotions subsided, and he let his mind take over. He couldn't blame Ginny for anything, he knew that, nor could he blame Hermione or anyone else. As much as he wanted them to tell him, it made more sense to keep it a secret, as painful as it was for both parties. Even if he had stayed, his focus would have been compromised and he would have been forced to return in a matter of months, if not weeks. He was grateful that he made it this far in two years, and yet he wondered what it would have been like to see Ginny grow in her pregnancy, to have been at her side when she had to endure labor, and to have taken the first family picture standing protectively over Ginny's bedside as she held Liam for the first time. They were all tantalizing fantasies, but nothing more.

"You're so brave, and strong," Harry told her. "He looks like you've raised him well. I wish I could have been here with you."

"I had help," Ginny said simply. "For those days that I had to keep myself from writing you, I had an entire support group here to get me through any difficulty and all of the milestones in Liam's life. Even when I went back to work, I had an understanding boss that accommodated my situation. I was never at a lack for help."

"That's good. That would have been my primary concern."

Ginny grabbed Harry's hand and she shivered involuntarily as she did so. She had forgotten what it was like to touch his skin and feel it beneath her own, as though it were another part of her.

"I'm really happy that you're back, Harry. Two years was too long."

"Yeah..."

"Why don't you nap up here for a while and avoid the chaos downstairs. I'll bring Liam up when you're awake."

Harry yawned at the mention of a nap. "Sounds fantastic, Gin. I can't wait to meet him officially this time."

Ginny stood up and slowly left the room, thankful that she didn't hate herself now or worse, that Harry hated her.

* * *

"You handled it very well, Ginny. Couldn't have done it better."

Ginny, Hermione and Ron were sitting in the kitchen while Liam sat atop the counter in the middle of them. He was eating and playing with cereal pieces from a bowl in front of him while he kept his favorite snitch close to him at all times. Everyone else had already left, while Molly and Arthur were in the backyard tending to the garden to make room for a play area for their grandson.

"Thanks," Ginny said in response to Hermione. "I'm just happy he understood where I was coming from."

"Of course he did. Harry's surprisingly logical in that sense," Hermione said.

"He's the spitting image of Harry," Ron said as he observed all of Liam's movements. "He's got so much life in him. My nephew is amazing, Ginny. I still can't believe it."

"Neither can I," Ginny admitted to her brother. "I wanted to tell you, too."

"Don't worry about it," Ron said. "I understand. I just can't stop looking at him, can't I?"

Hermione hugged Ron's arm tightly. Ginny felt very fulfilled to see her brother and Hermione so happy together. Here they were, two years later, and it was as if nothing had changed at all. She just felt very...warm around them, and she wished that she could have the same type of relationship with Wyatt in the near future. She said exactly this aloud, and Ron's demeanor changed slightly.

"This Wyatt fellow, is he good to you, Gin? Hermione's explained everything to me, but I want to make sure that you're happy."

"Of course," Ginny said reassuringly. "I think you'd really like him, Ron. He's great."

Out of the corner of her eye, Ginny thought she saw Hermione roll her eyes. But she wasn't certain.

"How is everything else around here?" Ron asked. "I haven't gotten much correspondence with anyone."

"Let's see," Hermione started off. "Teddy lives with his grandmother, but he visits every so often, more so recently since Liam was born and he gained a new playmate. He's remarkable, and he looks more and more like Remus and Tonks each day."

"Luna is out to discover herself," Ginny said, somewhat amused. "She's become a sort of wizarding naturalist and has been doing a lot of traveling. Her most recent postcard was from Indonesia, where she claims to have met Newt Scamander's grandson."

"Neville tried his hand at being an Auror for a short period of time, I'm sure you know," Hermione continued. "But, Neville being Neville, he quit his training here and ventured out into other interests. He's been working closely with Professor Sprout, and rumor has it that McGonagall is looking into hiring a new Herbology teacher for when Sprout retires."

"A lot has happened then, from what I gather," Ron said airily, joining Liam in playing with a bit of cereal.

Molly walked in from outside, dusting off a bit of soil that managed to find its way on top of her sun hat.

"Did Harry take the news well?"

"Better than I could have hoped for, Mum," Ginny said, looking on at Liam who was getting very near to the bottom of his bowl of cereal. "He's napping now, and I suspect he'll be much better afterwards."

"Yes, that's good," Molly said. "Where did Wyatt head off to? Did he not come back?"

"He had a meeting. But that should be done by now...he might have just headed back to his loft. I think I'll go and visit so we can talk. There's another conversation that I need to have."

"Why another conversation?" Ron asked as Ginny stood up.

"I don't suspect he's taken quite as well to the revelation that Harry is Liam's father than he's letting on," Ginny said. "If I'm going to tie up loose ends, I might as well do them all today. Listen you two, when Harry wakes up, make sure he gets to spend time with Liam. And if Lee isn't too willing, help him along, won't you? I'll be back by nightfall."

Ginny made her way over to the fireplace and watched as her brother and his brother's girlfriend looked on at her son playing with his food. Liam looked up briefly at his mother as she backed into the pit with a handful of Floo powder.

"Ma-ma?"

"Mama will be back soon, Lee," Ginny said lovingly, her mind going to her former boyfriend sleeping just a mere couple stories above her.

She uttered her destination, dropped the powder, and everything disappeared in an emerald blaze.

* * *

**AN:** So, as maybe you can tell, I'm trying my best to be good about updates, especially now that it's summer! Hope you enjoyed it!


	6. Talking

**KEEPSAKE  
Post-Seven; Harry returns from Auror training to find Ginny with a one-year-old son that she claims to be theirs.**

**Disclaimer: All JKR's work.**

**

* * *

**

**SIX: Talking**

In a matter of seconds, Ginny reappeared in another fireplace across town. She had gotten more graceful when it came to traveling by Floo, in part because of her relationship with Wyatt that required so much travel. She stepped out of the pit as she waved her wand above her head, instantly dusting her body off of soot and other dirt.

"Blimey! You should give a warning the next time you do that!" Wyatt was standing near the front door, still wearing his coat and looking particularly shocked.

"I'm sorry," Ginny apologized. "You just got home, didn't you?"

Wyatt nodded, shedding his coat and kicking aside his shoes. He walked over to where Ginny was and, contrary to what Ginny expected, wrapped her into his arms and gave her a kiss. As soon as they pulled apart, she looked at him in confusion.

"Are you mad?" She wished she had a better way of formulating her question, but that was the best way she could get it out.

He raised a brow. "Why would I be mad? Have you done something nasty?"

"No, it's just - well, earlier?" Ginny spent a great deal of the afternoon, in between her talk with Harry and her conversations with Ron and Hermione in her kitchen, worrying about Wyatt's reaction. The two of them had never really had a fight, and she suspected that he might not have been too happy to find out that her ex-boyfriend and Liam's father was Harry Potter. It wasn't exactly the lightest of secrets to share.

"Are you talking about Harry Potter? Merlin, Ginny, why would I be mad?"

"I don't know," Ginny admitted as she moved away from the fireplace and sat down on the opposite couch. "I suppose you haven't really got a reason...but you seemed so flustered earlier, I wasn't quite sure what you were feeling."

"Well, it's Harry Potter," Wyatt explained, sitting beside her. "He's not exactly someone you meet everyday, at least, not for me. I'll admit, I was a bit blindsided, but I suppose that's to be expected any time someone meets his girlfriend's former boyfriend. And a little more so just to discover that he's a famous wizard."

Ginny swallowed hard. "It wasn't anything that I was deliberately trying to keep from you. I didn't think it was something of utmost importance to share. While raising Liam alone, I guess I tried to extract as much of him out of my mind as I could."

Wyatt nodded understandingly. "It's okay, Ginny. You don't have to explain yourself to me. Your relationship with Harry, or Liam's relationship with him, is exclusive only to those relationships, and it doesn't involve me. _I trust you_." He kissed her forehead.

"You're too good for me," Ginny said rather sullenly, resting her head against his shoulder. "If we were in opposite situations, and I had just met the mother of your child...well, I don't quite know."

"Well, now that you mention it..." He smiled coyly at her.

"Oh, you git," Ginny said, feigning irritation as she punched him. "You're amazing, have I told you that?"

"You tend to forget, but that's alright," he said with a smile. "But...out of curiosity, how long were you and Harry together?"

She had expected this question. "We got together in my fifth year at Hogwarts, his sixth year. We split for a while the following year because of his, erm, _quest_, and then we were together again for the three years after that."

He nodded slowly. "Was he receptive? Earlier, I mean."

"More so than I expected. At first, he wasn't too pleased that I'd kept Liam a secret from him for too long. But still...I can't help but feeling as though that's not it, that we didn't exactly have the full conversation."

"You had your reasons, love."

"I'm not so certain anymore that I did," she admitted.

Wyatt lifted her chin from his shoulder and looked her directly in the eye, stroking her cheek lovingly as he did so.

"When Harry becomes a first-class Auror, which would have probably already happened anyway, but still, when that does happen, he'll have your decision to thank. You did what you thought was best, what _is_ best."

Ginny shrugged. "I wonder, though, for Liam-"

"Liam has you," he said firmly. "Liam has _us_."

"Oh, I know, I do," Ginny said reassuringly. "I have you to thank for so much."

Wyatt softened his gaze and simply held her hands in his.

"Give yourself more credit, Ginny. You tend to forget how amazing you are, as well."

Ginny smiled at him, feeling more reassured now.

"Just promise me that I'll get to meet him now that he's here," he added on. "I wasn't kidding about dinner."

"I didn't think you were," Ginny said. "I have time before I have to get back to Liam, you know..."

Wyatt leaned in and kissed Ginny once more, leading her to recline onto the couch, thankful for what she had in Wyatt.

* * *

When Ginny returned to the Burrow, she found the kitchen lit by candlelight, with only Hermione sitting where she had left her.

"Have you been waiting here the whole time?" Ginny asked as she waved her wand over herself once more.

"Of course not, I've only just gotten here. I wanted some tea, and it only happened that you showed up the same time as I did. How did it go, by the way?"

Ginny sat across Hermione. "He wasn't mad, thankfully."

"That's good then," Hermione said, sipping from her tea.

"I know you don't like him," Ginny said. "I know that you don't approve of our relationship, but Wyatt is an amazing man."

Hermione looked a little surprised. "I like Wyatt well enough! I just...I don't know, Ginny, I just thought that you would have held out a little longer for Harry, that's all."

"You and everyone else in this house, it seems," Ginny said, slightly exasperated. "But Wyatt is good to me, and to Liam!"

"And I've never once doubted it," Hermione reminded her. "I like Wyatt. I can see that he's kind to you, and that he cares deeply for Liam. The question, though, is whether or not you see this relationship enduring. Do you love him?"

Ginny considered the question for a bit. She knew she felt much more than simple compassion and respect towards Wyatt, but she didn't quite have the word picked out for it. She thought back to all the times he would come over and play with Liam, or take him out for a play date, or even when he was there for his first birthday party. These were all milestones that she wouldn't have just shared with anyone, and she had her answer.

"Yes," she said resolutely. "I do love Wyatt."

"Well, there you go then," Hermione replied, tipping her cup of tea towards her. "I really have no say in the matter, other than to honestly tell you...that I'm happy for you."

Ginny smiled, having earned Hermione's approval or at least, the best of it.

"Thanks, Hermione. How are things with you and Ron?"

With that, Hermione's cheeks filled with blood, and she couldn't help but exude a sense of girlishness that echoed the days when her relationship with Ron had just started.

"Fantastic, actually," Hermione admitted with a wide grin. "I missed him a lot, and although things are feeling like they never changed, we agreed to take it slow. Or at least, that's what I suggested. You know your brother, he's rather aggressive at times when it comes to our relationship..."

"Unlike before," Ginny said, thinking back to Hogwarts days when Ron's stupidity and ignorance got in the way of an earlier start to his relationship with Hermione. "So you're happy?"

"He's only been back a day, but I'm in love with him all over again, Ginny."

Ginny smiled, happy to know that their relationship was on track. Suddenly, she remembered Liam and looked around, wondering where he was.

"Where's Liam?"

"Oh, he's upstairs with Harry and Ron."

A sense of relief washed over Ginny as she realized this was the first time she had ever heard of Liam being with his father. Even in her head, it was an image worth watching.

"I'm going to go upstairs to...check on them," Ginny said, standing up.

"I'm going to finish up here and I'll follow you upstairs. Go ahead."

Making her way back to Ron's room, Ginny thought back to her meeting at Wyatt's place earlier. Hermione and Ron were happy, so she figured that she had a chance to be happy, as well. Not that she had ever purposefully kept herself from being so, but she always felt like she needed some sort of approval and now to know that Hermione didn't loathe Wyatt, she felt more assured. But Harry...what was it that she felt?

Ginny leaned against the doorway of Ron's room, keeping quiet until they noticed her. Ron was lying on the bed, looking down at Harry and Liam, who were sitting on the floor. Harry was holding Liam's snitch, making it fly around his head with accompanying zoom and whoosh-ing noises. It was a foreign sight, to see Harry playing with Liam, who was undoubtedly his son simply based on appearance. Harry looked so happy yet bewildered all at once, as though he were unsure of what to do with Liam next. But from what Ginny could tell of her son, his continuous giggles and laughter meant nothing more than pure joy to be with this man he had just met, his father.

"Oi, how long have you been standing there?" Ron asked upon noticing Ginny.

"Oh, you're back," Harry said, looking up. "He's amazing, Gin."

"Ma-ma!" Liam squealed with delight. "He has the sitch!"

"Where were you?" Harry asked, eyeing her curiously.

"Out," she said simply, stepping in the room to sit beside Liam and his father.

* * *

The following days moved in rapid succession, with each one blending into the next. It had been a while since the Burrow was in full swing, and with all the commotion within it, everything seemed to be moving rapidly.

Harry and Ron received their Auror training certificates by owl, officially licensing them to become Aurors. The following day, they received their placement notifications, both of them being assigned to Squad C, the best squad for entry-level Aurors.

"We'll probably have a couple assignments in Knockturn Alley for now, but that's perfectly fine," Ron said, eagerly clutching his parchment.

Harry didn't seem to mind either, as his attention these days was focused entirely on getting to know Liam. As a result, Ginny tried to distance herself from the two of them during the day, instead watching them occasionally or going out to lunch with Hermione when she found it difficult to spend that much time away from her son during the day. She could see that Liam was taking well to Harry, especially now that he had the vague concept of him being his father. He had yet to address him as such, but he was far more receptive with the understanding that Harry had a bigger part in his life than just anyone else.

Not much had happened between Harry and Ginny. The two of them would talk whenever they were around Liam, but it seemed nearly impossible to imitate whenever he wasn't with them. It was as though awkwardness had fully characterized their relationship, and neither one of them knew how to handle themselves when they were with the other. Everyone in the Burrow seemed to be holding their breath for something substantial to happen between the two. It wasn't that they didn't like Wyatt - in fact, Hermione's own approval seemed to have warmed the reception of everyone else - but it simply became more uncomfortable for everyone to acknowledge him in addition to Harry ever since his return. And with Wyatt far busier these days with final exams approaching for his students, he was hardly around, leaving more room for Ginny to spend time at home when she wasn't working.

In fact, Ginny took a more active role at work now that she felt more comfortable leaving Liam at home. On the other hand, she silently admitted to herself that the opportunity of getting to see Harry at the Ministry was incentive enough to go to work more often. Not that they saw each other constantly, though. Being in different departments to begin with, Harry was always out on patrol or to follow up with some additional training that he wasn't around enough for Ginny to see him. Which only gave her more space to grow more confused with her feelings toward him.

_I don't like him._

_Or maybe I love him._

_Perhaps I'm just acting out because I've missed him for so long._

_Because of Liam._

_But Wyatt._

Ginny's emotions were complicated and messy, and she couldn't sort through them successfully. She didn't dare talk to Hermione about it, because she knew that Hermione would subtly hint at getting back together with Harry, even if it wasn't the most logical thing to do. Her relationship with Wyatt was only getting stronger, and as that progressed, she had greater difficulty talking to Harry.

One particular evening, when Wyatt was swamped at work and Ginny felt more distant from Harry than she usually did, she made her way to his room, wondering what she would say. But when she got there, she found that he looked as though he were ready to go out. He was dressed nicely, and Ginny felt immediate curiosity bubble up inside of her.

"Where are you going?" she asked, and Harry jumped up with a start.

"Oh, sorry, didn't see you there, Ginny. Erm, I'm going out to dinner with a work friend," he said.

"Ron and Hermione went to dinner, too," she said. "Are you meeting up with them?"

"Afraid not. Ron's got different intentions in mind, you see."

"What do you mean?"

"Well," Harry said, his voice barely a whisper. "Seeing as Ron would be upset, you can't let anyone know, but...he's planning on proposing to Hermione tonight over dinner."

"What!" Ginny was completely taken aback. "I - I thought they were taking it slow!"

"Those two? If they took it any slower, they wouldn't be in a relationship. It's about time, too. Ron spent the past two years going on about how much he missed Hermione; it only makes sense."

"I suppose." Ginny knew it was true, and as surprised as she was now, it only made sense for Ron and Hermione to finally get engaged. As much as Hermione had entertained the idea of going slow, Ginny knew that when it came down to it, Hermione would have said yes in a heartbeat.

"I'll be back later tonight," Harry said, grabbing a coat and brushing past Ginny. "If Ron and Hermione get home before me, make sure to give them my best."

"Sure," Ginny said, eyeing Harry suspiciously as he made his way downstairs. Who was he going to dinner with looking like that, especially if it was just a work friend?

Ginny waited downstairs in the lounge, where Liam had fallen asleep in one of the chairs. She continued reading one of her books for work, _Reporting Quidditch with Precision_, and she daydreamed about playing professionally one day. In fact, in a couple of days, there would be try-outs at the Ministry, and depending on skill level, you could be drafted right then and there. Ginny made a mental note to attend.

The clock struck midnight when the door opened. Ginny sat up with a start, eager to see who it was that would walk through. Before she could wonder any longer, she saw Hermione run inside, looking positively giddy and practically jumping up with joy. Ron followed behind her, looking particularly pleased with himself.

"Ginny!" Hermione screamed, nearly waking Liam up in the nearby chair, where he was stirring a bit. "Ginny, Ginny, Ginny!"

Ginny put her book aside and stood up. "Well?"

Hermione flashed her the ring on her finger. It was simple yet elegant, silver with a diamond situated on top, perfect for Hermione. Ron looked on at her, happy with himself.

"Congratulations, you two," she said sincerely. "Mum should be in the kitchen, Dad might be asleep, and Harry hasn't come home yet."

Hermione ran past Ginny towards the kitchen to share the good news. Ron approached Ginny, the smile on his face having subsided a bit.

"Harry hasn't come home yet?"

"No."

"Hmm, interesting."

"What do you mean?"

"It's nothing," Ron said flippantly. "Let's go to the kitchen with Hermione."

But as soon as Ron said that, the front door opened once more behind them.

Harry entered, still dressed smartly and looking mildly concerned. Ginny expected him to shut the door behind him so that she could ask him why he looked the way he did, but he didn't. Instead, he held the door open for a beat longer than he should have and from behind him, a woman stepped into the lounge. Her dark blond tresses swung against her face as she scanned the room from one end to the other, smiling delicately on her pretty face when she saw the others. Harry shut the door after she walked past him, and he took a deep breath as he did so.

"This is Sarah," Harry said, his explanation almost directed exclusively towards Ginny. "She's one of the Aurors I work with...and she's my girlfriend."


	7. Spiraling

**KEEPSAKE  
Post-Seven; Harry returns from Auror training to find Ginny with a one-year-old son that she claims to be theirs.**

**Disclaimer: All JKR's work.**

**

* * *

**

**SEVEN: Spiraling**

"Hi!" Sarah greeted warmly, her blue eyes looking straight at Ginny. She walked towards the red-headed witch and extended her hand, motioning to shake Ginny's. "You must be Ginny."

"H-Hello," Ginny said, bewildered as she shook Sarah's hand. "I'm so sorry, but I haven't heard anything about you. Sarah...?"

"Sarah Carpenter. I work with Ron and Harry in Squad C, and I was with them during training here in London and in America, as well. Harry's told me loads about you."

"Has he really?" Ginny found herself breathless. On top of Ron and Hermione's unexpected engagement, she didn't anticipate Harry's dinner partner tonight to be a woman, much less a girlfriend that she had never heard about. Out of all the thoughts that seemed to be exploding in Ginny's head, all she could think about was Liam sleeping in the chair beside her, and how unsuitable this woman seemed to be Harry's girlfriend. Even the term seemed foreign to her. She turned slightly to look at Ron behind her, whose face was red with guilt. Clearly, he had known.

"Yes he has," Sarah said pleasantly. "You were a popular topic of conversation when we first started our training. And even now, apparently! He's told me about Liam...where is he?"

"Oh, he's sleeping," Ginny said, gesturing to her sleeping son in the nearby chair. "Perhaps another day."

Harry stepped forward and wrapped an arm around Sarah's shoulders. "How about we go into the kitchen and we introduce you to Ron's mum? And Hermione, as well. I reckon she has some news to share with us..."

The pair walked past Ginny, who was smiling as wide as she could, like some kind of idiot. Harry gave her this look that was a cross somewhere between apologetic and sympathetic. She didn't reciprocate, and instead waited until they were in the kitchen. As soon as they were, she twirled on her heel and grabbed Ron by the sleeve before he could escape from her. She pulled out her wand and cast a charm over Liam, who was sleeping soundly in spite of the new ruckus.

"What did you just do there?" Ron asked, pointing at Liam.

"A silencing charm, so he won't hear us arguing," Ginny said heatedly. "You knew? You knew that Harry had a girlfriend?"

"It wasn't a sure thing!" Ron explained hurriedly. "Sarah's been with us for the past two years, and she was the only one that ever got close to Harry. They'd been talking for awhile ever since we came back, and I guess they rekindled their spark. Can you blame him?"

"You _guess_?" Ginny asked maliciously. "There is a strange woman in our house, Ron, and she's going on about how much she knows about me and how much she knows about my son. When it comes to Liam's father, I need answers!"

"Calm down, won't you? They'll hear you out here, yapping off like I'm the only one with a pair of ears! Harry's a grown boy, and you have Wyatt. If you want answers, you'll have to get them from Harry yourself. But before you go about snooping and pointing fingers, just be aware that Sarah is brilliant, and wonderful for Harry. You've moved on, and there shouldn't be any reason that he can't either."

"But Liam-"

"Even with Liam!" Ron insisted, and he turned around and walked into the kitchen, leaving her behind.

Ginny was so frustrated she didn't know what to do with herself. Before she could storm into the kitchen and demand answers out of either Harry or Sarah, she restrained herself and instead decided to take Liam upstairs, so he could sleep in peace. She gathered him into her arms, and she shushed him gently as he stirred from having been moved. The journey upstairs wasn't a particularly long one, and yet Ginny's thoughts made it so. She didn't want to see Sarah again, not tonight at least, and she certainly didn't want to see Harry. She didn't want to see anyone, now that she thought about it. Perhaps she would go to bed, seeing as Sarah's visit seemed to have no foreseeable end and Ron and Hermione would want to celebrate their engagement accordingly...

Once in her room, Ginny gently set Liam onto her bed and wrapped him snuggly with several blankets, one of which was emblazoned with several famous Quidditch stars over the years - his personal favorite. She slipped into her pajamas and tied her hair up, hoping that the tension of pulling her hair backwards would relieve the anxiety and stress that she felt this moment. She was about to turn off the light when the door opened and a familiar face stepped in.

"Going to bed, are we?"

"I figured there was nothing better to do than sleep everything away," Ginny told Hermione, who was already making her way to sit on the edge of the bed.

"She's not staying here tonight, so you can relax," Hermione said, assuaging Ginny's other fear. "Harry just thought that, well, now that they'd made it official, it would be wise to introduce her to everybody. Especially you."

"How kind of him." She sat on the floor, leaning against the wall and looking up at Hermione.

"Oh, Ginny, come off it. You know Harry meant no harm. Sarah's clearly important to him."

"Almost as important as the many different times he mentioned her to everyone."

"It's not as though he meant to keep her a secret forever," Hermione said. "Think back to when you and Wyatt had started. Did you want to go around boasting a relationship that you weren't certain of just yet?"

"That was different then. I had Liam in the picture."

"And so does Harry. Now, at least. And he has you to consider, as well. The fact that he didn't bring Sarah's name up the moment he saw you only goes to show how considerate he is of your feelings and the repercussions that this new relationship could have on yours, and his with Liam. Give him some credit for having tact."

Ginny shrugged. "It's one thing for Liam to have just met his father, but it's something else entirely for him to get accustomed to another new face."

"This isn't entirely about Liam," Hermione pointed out. "Nor is it about him at all. This is about you and what you feel for Harry."

Ginny almost said something, then chose to play stupid. "I don't know what you mean."

Hermione smiled knowingly. "Deny it all you want, Ginny, but something has changed since he came back."

"Yes. He has a girlfriend now."

"Don't do this with me, Ginny. Remember who you're talking to. Remember that I'm the one who was with you all throughout your pregnancy, all throughout Liam's first months, when you wished that you had Harry at your side."

"Things have changed now. I have Wyatt, and Harry and I are just friends who-"

"What you and Harry had doesn't instantly go away, as though you performed some vanishing charm, Ginny. The fact of the matter is that now he's back, you're forced to deal with feelings you've repressed in his absence. Call me hyper-analytical, Ginny, but you know as well as I that what I'm saying is true. I've been with you this whole time."

Ginny looked at the ground. She had no argument against Hermione. As much as she could try, she would never outwit her. In many ways, Hermione knew her better than she knew herself.

"I don't need it to get more complicated," Ginny admitted. "I'm sure Sarah is lovely, but Harry doesn't need another lovely person in his life."

"Only you?"

"I don't know. Maybe. I don't know." Ginny sighed heavily and miserably.

"You need to talk to Harry about this, Ginny. He's trying his best to take your opinions and emotions into consideration, and the least you can do is alleviate his confusion by giving him insight into what you're thinking and feeling. He wants to be a good father and a good friend."

"Ha, a friend," Ginny said ruefully.

"And if it changes beyond that, it'll be a conversation for another time," Hermione said, making way to leave the room.

Before she left though, Ginny made sure to say, "Congratulations, by the way. I'm happy for you both."

Hermione smiled down at her friend. "Thanks, Ginny. Soon enough, you'll be happy for you."

* * *

"Want to tell me what's bothering you?"

Ginny looked at Wyatt, feigning confusion. "I haven't the foggiest - what do you mean?"

"I'm saying, you're not very good at hiding your emotions, Gin. You're not being yourself tonight. Trust me, I would know."

Ginny squirmed uncomfortably. At the moment, she was lying in bed with Wyatt, trapped and entangled between the sheets. She was resting in the nook of Wyatt's arm, and she had hoped that she would be treated to some silence so she wouldn't have to confront any more repressed feelings and inevitable conversations.

"I'm sorry. There's just a lot on my mind, lately."

"Like Harry Potter's new girlfriend?"

Ginny froze. "What are you talking about?"

Wyatt sat up and Ginny followed suit, the two of them sitting upright and looking at each other on the bed.

"Ron told me," he said simply. "He warned me that you might not be all...here, especially with Harry's new girlfriend, Sarah something or other. I was waiting for you to tell me yourself, but clearly..."

"Ugh," Ginny uttered. "It's not important, really, it's not, Wyatt. If it were, I would have told you."

"It's alright to be bothered," Wyatt said reassuringly. "Old feelings die hard."

"What? No, Wyatt! No, there are no old feelings there. Honestly, those have gone a long time ago. Please don't worry."

"I'm not worried," Wyatt said plainly. "You might not feel the same way as you used to, but you're still going to feel _something_. It's the natural response to change. Especially now that you've both moved on."

"Now I've got you and Hermione analyzing every facet of me. Honestly, I'm fine."

Wyatt shrugged and then kissed Ginny on her forehead as he was wont to do.

"I wish you would realize more often that I'm more receptive than you think I am. I want to know what's on your mind, and I want to know whatever's bothering you. That's how this works, Ginny."

"I know, I know. It's just one of those things that takes time."

"Then I suppose I'll wait. I love you, Ginny. I hope you know that."

Ginny's heart leapt. They had never been said before, and yet when Wyatt said those three words, it sounded as though they had been said a thousand times, as though it were natural and familiar to her. Her mind suddenly cleared and she jumped on top of Wyatt, kissing him square on the lips.

"Oh, I love you, too, Wyatt. But you already knew that."

"I had a suspicion," Wyatt said playfully as he grabbed Ginny by her waist to bring her closer.

* * *

For a while, Ginny felt comfortable with everything. Knowing that her relationship with Wyatt was anything but a fluke helped bring clarity to her mind and allowed her to relax. She was outwardly happy.

Even Hermione took notice, in spite of her busy wedding plans. Ever since the engagement, Mrs. Weasley took it upon herself to bring the wedding about as rapidly as she could, dragging Hermione along with her everywhere she went. At the rate everything was going, she and Ron would have an extremely short engagement.

Everything else was moving along nicely. At work, she was working up the courage more and more to participate in the Quidditch try outs at the encouragement of her colleagues. In turn, it gave Liam some nice quality time with Harry seeing as he was at a point where he could be at home more often in between raids. The two of them hadn't really talked yet since he introduced Sarah, and yet she could always hear whenever Sarah was at the Burrow for a brief appearance. She always managed to be upstairs whenever those instances came up, or she would slip outside with Liam for a while.

She preferred the latter more so these days, however, now that Liam had taken a liking to playing outdoors rather than in her room. And ever since George gave him a toy broomstick for toddlers, they had more reason to go outside. Ginny would take him out to the lake, where he could fly around near its banks and then possibly watch the fish and the fireflies gather along the water's surface whenever he got tired and the sun was setting. During these moments, it was as if Sarah didn't exist. Out of sight, out of mind.

"Stay close by, Lee!" Ginny called after her son, who was teetering away from her, slightly suspended in the air.

"It's fun, Ma-ma!" Liam shrieked in delight. "Higher!"

"Not too high!" Ginny reminded him from where she was sitting on the ground. "I won't have you falling down and hurting yourself. Do you hear me?"

"No!" Liam replied mischievously, whizzing past his mother as he said so.

Ginny couldn't help but smile inwardly. So much of Liam reminded her of Harry. His love for Quidditch was a shared passion between his parents, but his immense skill and inclination for the sport undoubtedly came from his father. Seeing him ride on his broomstick was incredibly reminiscent of the first Quidditch game at Hogwarts that she saw Harry play in. She remembered seeing him sail through the air effortlessly, the wind blowing his already-messy hair every which way while a giant smile plastered itself on his face. She couldn't think of anyone else that was as happy at what they were doing as Harry was when he was on a broomstick. And the same effect played out when Liam flew on his toy, albeit awkwardly and slightly haphazardly. Yet the glee there was undeniable.

"Having fun?"

Ginny turned around and found Harry standing behind her, surrounded by reeds and tall grass. He moved towards her and sat down next to her, as much as Ginny wanted to get up and just leave. She was inexplicably drawn.

"I thought you were out with Sarah," Ginny said softly.

"I was. But she had to get back to the Ministry to fill out some paperwork that she forgot about. And so now I'm here. Looks like he's having fun on his broom, eh?"

"He's a natural," Ginny replied. "He gets that from you."

"Are you kidding me? He gets that from both of us. You're not too bad on a broomstick yourself, Weasley."

_Don't call me Weasley_, Ginny thought. _Call me Ginny, like you always do_.

"Spitting image of you, though," Ginny said. "He loves everything Quidditch. I wouldn't be surprised if he became a Seeker in a matter of years."

"Hi!" Liam exclaimed when he saw Harry. "Hi Da! Da! Da!"

Ginny looked at Harry, surprised. "He calls you 'Dad' now?"

Harry was smiling widely. "I guess so! He was struggling with it a while ago, but I suppose I helped him along the way."

"That's wonderful," Ginny said, almost breathlessly. She had always wondered if Liam would ever be able to call him Dad, and now it was happening. "He's gotten used to you."

"Well, I _am_ his father," Harry reminded her. "I would think that he would."

"Oh, but, you know what I mean. I've never seen him take as well to anyone new as he has to you. You're amazing with him."

"New? I'm doing the best with what I've been given," Harry said, rather snidely.

Ginny felt slightly attacked.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"I'm just saying...it's not like you gave me a head start, you know. It's not like you told him every day as he was growing up who I was, or what to call me. I had to do that all on my own."

"I had no choice!" Ginny exclaimed defensively.

"Again with the choice!" Harry said exasperatedly. "It's the choice all over again, isn't it? You act as though you were rendered completely incapable of lifting a quill to write to me."

"I've had this conversation with you already," Ginny said matter-of-factly. "I thought you understood."

"I didn't understand, I just didn't have anything to say at the time."

"Oh? And now? Suddenly you're a fountain of words? Go ahead, tell me everything. What do you have to say?"

"I wanted to be here!" Harry retorted heatedly. "Had I known that you were pregnant, you were right - I would have come back instantly and helped you. It was my right, my _right_ as Liam's father to be here for his birth, to have watched him grow up rather than coming back simply to hear about it, as though I were some stranger-"

"You would have resented me! You would have realized that coming back wasn't good for your career!"

"To hell with my career, Ginny! It's my family! Do you think I wanted Liam to grow up thinking he didn't have a father, to grow up like I did? I could have put my Auror training aside for later!"

"The chances of you going back were unlikely, and it was better that you made something of yourself rather than being forced to stay here."

"You act as though everything is more important to me than my son, as though I would have done it all in spite of Liam!" He was fuming.

"And you wouldn't have, hadn't it been for me!" Ginny insisted. "All I wanted to do was help you rather than hurt you! Can't you see that?"

"Why are you being like this?" Harry was frustrated with her. "You act like I'm always attacking you."

"What do you mean '_always_?'" Ginny asked meticulously, standing up as she did so. "What are you getting at?"

Harry stood up. "I'm getting at Sarah!"

"What does she have to do with any of this? I thought we were talking about us, I mean, our situation!"

"Oh, don't play like that," Harry said, refusing to acknowledge the lack of transition between topics. "I've known since the moment I introduced her to you that you didn't like her."

"That is _so_ not-"

"Don't lie to me about what this is about and what it's not about," Harry said. "I know you, Ginny. Sarah's a wonderful woman, and I'm sure that if you'd given her a chance, you would have been able to see that, too. You don't even talk to her when I bring her to the Burrow. Instead, you flit off to wherever it is that you go, and I have to come up with some excuse to her as to why she has yet to meet you!"

"I thought we were talking about Liam," she said, catching a glimpse of her son on his broomstick out of the corner of her eye.

"I was under the impression that we weren't talking at all, at least not since you met Sarah. Care to explain why you've been avoiding me since then?"

"I haven't been avoiding you," Ginny insisted. "I'm busy with work and with Liam, both of which are concerns that are more pressing than getting to know your girlfriend or going out of my way to talk to you."

"Oh, you have to go out of your way now, do you?"

"Just take a look at us, Harry! We're a mess! You're fine when you're with Liam, when I'm not around, but the moment that I'm suddenly there, you're not yourself and I just don't feel comfortable."

"You're one to talk," Harry said. "Something's clearly bothering you and you haven't bothered to tell me what it is."

"There are parts of my life that are my own, you know. I don't have to tell you everything, Harry."

"You used to."

And with that, silence befell them both. Whereas another situation may have brought nostalgic memories of stolen moments in corridors or beside the lake at Hogwarts, neither of them thought back to what "used to" meant. Instead, they just watched as Liam sped along, constantly squealing in excitement and never tiring of his ride. He rose higher with each loop he did, nearly a foot and a half off the ground, before heading back down and riding closer to the reeds and soil.

"That's our problem, then, isn't it?" Ginny finally asked. "We used to do a lot of things, and now we're not."

"I suppose so," Harry said simply, his gaze still focused on Liam and occasionally the sun setting on the horizon of the lake.

"Wyatt wants to have dinner tomorrow night, if you're not busy." Ginny's voice was barely a croak now. "So that you two can meet officially."

Harry didn't say anything for a while. Ginny didn't care to look at him, to implore him for some sort of response. She waited for all of several minutes.

"Sure," he finally said. "Sounds good. I'm going to head back inside." And with that, Harry spun around and headed back towards the Burrow, leaving Ginny and Liam alone again.

Ginny heaved a sigh, feeling rather empty inside and as though she had let some golden opportunity slip by.


	8. Dinner Talk

**KEEPSAKE  
Post-Seven; Harry returns from Auror training to find Ginny with a one-year-old son that she claims to be theirs.**

**Disclaimer: All JKR's work.

* * *

**

**EIGHT: Dinner Talk**

Ginny was still miserable when she went inside after nightfall, more so upon realizing that Harry had left to go meet up with Sarah at some unspecified location.

"It's going to get better," Hermione promised.

Ginny was sitting in the kitchen with Hermione, Ron, and Molly. Liam was upstairs sleeping. She was on her fourth cup of tea, a telling sign of how long she had been here, mulling over her thoughts.

"You can't say that, Hermione," Ginny said dejectedly. "I can only imagine how dinner tomorrow will go."

"Cheer up, Gin," Ron said positively. "You're stubborn and Harry's a git. It's bound to work out."

"Stop doling out advice to your sister," Molly chided her son. "This Sarah, she's nothing to worry about."

"How can you be so sure?" Ginny asked. "She's amazing."

"She's a good girl, but she isn't right for Harry," Molly explained. "Things will blow over soon. You have yet to meet her properly, at any rate."

"I just can't stand fighting with him," Ginny said, not wanting to think about Sarah. "Things would have been better if they weren't so complicated to begin with. I miss our friendship. You should have seen him - he had reached his boiling point."

"Can you blame him though?" Hermione asked gingerly, searching Ginny's face for a reaction.

"What do you mean?" Ginny asked.

"From what you've told us, Harry was more understanding than to be expected when you first told him about Liam," Hermione explained, more so to the entire room than just Ginny. "But you know Harry as well as I. The outburst that you expected, the one that you had to see tonight, was inevitable; otherwise you wouldn't have seen it coming. It's very unlike Harry to have taken something as bewildering as the discovery of a son he never knew about with any reaction less than what you witnessed tonight."

"So you're saying I deserved it?" Ginny was eyeing Hermione closely, curiously.

"I'm saying that you shouldn't have expected the conversation upstairs you had with him when he first arrived to be the last, not when it went the way it did. Family is everything for Harry. At the same time," Hermione added brightly, "you know that he'll come around eventually. He just needed an outlet for all the confusion he had been feeling."

"She's right, Ginny," Ron added, almost uselessly. "Harry's not one to blow up, but even when he does, he recovers soon enough."

Molly came to her daughter's side and pulled her close, wrapping one arm around her and using another hand to run her fingers through her hair, just like when she was young. She loved her daughter and she loved Harry as well. To see any discord between the two of them hurt her more than she led on, and yet she knew that she was unable of helping Ginny see what it was that she needed to see. She understood Harry's side of the story, just as well as she understood her daughter's reasoning. Any conclusions that needed to be drawn and any epiphanies that needed to be had would have to be done as such without her aid.

"Harry loves Liam, you know that," Molly said soothingly. "And he cares deeply for you. Only good can come from that."

Ginny said nothing. Her mind filled with an image from tonight at the lake, and she could see the anger etched into Harry's face. Then she thought of her son, flying around on his broomstick, riding as carefree as any child, completely oblivious to the adult troubles that were boiling around him. And finally, she saw only Wyatt, smiling kindly at her as he always did, unwaveringly resolute at her side, and understanding of her even when she didn't deserve it.

More than ever, her heart and mind were entangled, and she had no means of solving it.

* * *

That night, Hermione snuck over to Ron's room when everyone was sleeping. Molly didn't permit Hermione sharing a room with Ron even though they were engaged, and Harry hadn't yet returned from his rendezvous with Sarah, so Hermione took advantage of the window of opportunity.

"What are you doing here?" Ron asked when he saw Hermione peering in through the door. "I thought would be asleep by now."

"I can't sleep," Hermione admitted, shutting the door quietly behind her. "I've been thinking about Ginny all night. Your sister never cries, and yet I'm almost certain that before I went to my room tonight, she was a little weepy. I can't be sure though; her back was turned."

Ron slid aside in his bed, leaving room for Hermione to rest beside him. "This isn't our issue, Hermione. Whatever it is that's foul between Harry and Ginny needs to be resolved only by them. You know that."

"I know, I know," Hermione said impatiently, situating herself comfortably beside Ron. "I just can't stand the thought of awkwardness between the two of them. They've always got along perfectly, and now-"

"And now, things have changed," Ron reminded her. "There's Liam in the picture now, as well as Wyatt and Sarah. It's funny, you would think that things would have been more complicated between Harry and Ginny back when he was off to kill Voldemort, not afterwards."

Hermione laughed, albeit bittersweetly. "I don't understand why she's letting everything get to her the way she is."

"You know the truth just like I do," Ron said sternly. "Ginny never stopped loving Harry, and Harry never stopped loving Ginny either. Harry told me that much before we came home."

"What about Sarah?"

"Sarah is...Sarah. And whatever Sarah is right now, Harry is still Harry, the same Harry that loved Ginny and the Harry that now has a son with him. We just have to be patient."

"I worry that patience isn't enough," Hermione said softly. "Ginny is happy with Wyatt, and Harry deserves happiness with Sarah. What if the two of them never align?"

Ron heaved a sigh. "Then I suppose we'll have to accept that much."

Hermione groaned. "To think that there was a point when you wanted Harry to stay away from Ginny."

Ron thought for a moment, and then said, "Well, Ginny needs him now."

Hermione didn't reply. She realized that her job wasn't to play matchmaker, but to help Ginny make the best decision she could, even if that meant Wyatt over Harry. She thought of happier things, like freshly mown grass, or new parchment, or her impending wedding to the man that she always loved.

"I love you, Ron," she said.

"Love you, too, 'Mione," Ron replied sleepily.

* * *

The next morning, Ginny expected to see Harry downstairs in the kitchen for breakfast. When she didn't see him, she understood that he never came home to begin with. She was feeling better than she had last night, but she knew that she wouldn't feel a full sense of resolve until she would be able to talk to Harry and sort out the different complications they had. The _many_ different complications they had.

When noon struck and Harry still hadn't come home, Ginny felt great dread within her for dinner that night. George had taken Liam for the day with Angelina, so she had time to prepare herself both externally and internally for dinner. Picking out what to wear was immensely difficult, especially when she considered how much it hadn't been an issue ever since her relationship with Wyatt had become serious. She was usually very comfortable looking however she did, and Wyatt never minded.

Settling on a floral dress and a white cardigan, Ginny spent a good part of an hour standing in front of a mirror to finalize her appearance. Ron walked in on her once and left the room chortling, while Hermione dropped by several times to ease her nerves, to no avail. As much as Ginny had always anticipated it, bringing together her former boyfriend with her current boyfriend made her particularly fearful, especially when she wasn't on good terms with one of them.

Finally, around five in the afternoon, Ginny heard the door downstairs open. She rushed out of her room and peered down from the stairs and saw Harry talking to Ron and Hermione. Relieved and frustrated all at once, she stormed down the stairs, causing Ron and Hermione to scatter before she could get there. Harry stood there, unflinching and unfazed, as Ginny descended on him. But before she could say anything smart or just plain angry, she instead came out with,

"You haven't forgotten about dinner, have you?"

He gazed at her curiously, as if he had been expecting something else, as well. Then he said, "No. I haven't.'

"Get ready then," Ginny demanded somewhat aggressively. "We'll be Floo-ing to Wyatt's by six so we can make our seven o'clock reservations."

"Alright," Harry replied passively. As Ginny started going back upstairs, he said, "Ginny-"

She whirled around. "What?"

He shook his head. "Nevermind. Let me get a glass of water and then I'll get ready."

* * *

Wyatt had chosen where to eat tonight, a small Italian place in town that he had taken Ginny to on one of their dates. She had no objections seeing as she enjoyed the food, but she did feel a little odd to have taken Harry to a place related to her history with Wyatt. But rather than making a big deal of it, she pictured Hermione telling her to smarten up. And so she did.

The evening had taken a bit of a rocky start when Harry and Ginny first showed up at Wyatt's loft. Harry wasn't incredibly engaging at first (no doubt because of his argument with Ginny) while Ginny tried her best to remain civil although appearing somewhat false. Wyatt, on the other hand, was overwhelmed by fanaticism, although remaining friendly and respectful towards Harry. However, there were instances that Wyatt would address him as Harry Potter, rather than just plain Harry.

Several times over the course of dinner, Ginny found herself looking at Harry when he was making conversation with Wyatt, and then she would shake it off when she realized that Wyatt took notice of her, as well. Wyatt would give her a curious look, and Ginny would reciprocate with an expression worthy of an exclamatory "What are you looking at?" But Wyatt would always smile it off, and Harry was oblivious to it all.

"A professor, eh?" Harry asked of Wyatt. "I have no experience other than the ones at Hogwarts...what is it like?"

"Rewarding," Wyatt said truthfully after taking a bite of his spaghetti. "Because of how I was born, my parents offered me the choice of attending a magical school or a Muggle one. I didn't see how it could be helpful for me to go to the latter, seeing as it would only make me that much more aware of what I was incapable of. So I chose to learn among Muggles, a best of both worlds kind of approach. And after my experience with some memorable professors along with some I wish I could forget, I decided it would be best if I could make as much of a difference as I could in the environment I was raised in."

Harry nodded in contemplation. "Good reasoning. I always loved my professors at Hogwarts. Most of the time." His mind went to Snape.

"Hogwarts has some of the best," Wyatt commented, and Ginny nodded in accordance. "How about you? How did Auror training treat you?"

Ginny put down her fork, intent on listening to Harry's response.

"Well, I loved it," Harry started, playing with his carbonara as he spoke. "And I love being an Auror. I always wanted to be one ever since Hogwarts."

Ginny looked down and away from Harry, wondering if he would somehow bring up her inability to tell him about Liam. The subjects just seemed related.

"It wasn't so much that I was good at Defense Against the Dark Arts," Harry continued, "but it always made sense somehow for me to pursue such a career. It matched my academic interests, as well."

"Don't be silly," Ginny said. She turned to Wyatt. "Harry is one of the best at what he does. Remember what I told you about the D.A.?"

"Ah, yes," Wyatt replied knowingly. "Ginny told me about Dumbledore's Army. Rather remarkable, I think."

Harry's face turned red. "Oh. She told you that? Well...she was very good at it, too. Skilled at Disarming and Stunning, in particular."

Ginny's cheeks flushed with heat and color. She was just glad that the room was dark. If there was any opportunity to go to the bathroom, now seemed like it.

"I'll be back. Going to the loo," she said as she stood up, thankful that the evening was progressing much better than she had anticipated.

As soon as Ginny was out of earshot, Wyatt looked at Harry with a wide grin and said, "I just really can't believe that I'm having dinner with you. I admit, I always believed in you, back when Voldemort was alive. They said that you'd run away, but I had a feeling you were up to something better."

Harry didn't quite know how to respond other than with a quiet, "Thanks."

"Of course, of course," Wyatt said, still continuing. "Ginny always spoke of you with the highest regard. She really respects you, you know."

"Hmm?"

"Oh yeah, she does. Even when we first started dating, she would drop small remarks about how she went to school with you and how you were friends with her brother and how brilliant you were...I never made the connection, though."

"Ah yeah," Harry said, not really knowing how to proceed. "Ginny's...great."

"She really is," Wyatt agreed. "So is Liam. Liam is an amazing little boy. Although, I'm sure you already know that."

"I'm learning," Harry said simply.

"It must have been difficult to have contacted him only through correspondence," Wyatt said, "then to come back and find him much different from what you had read."

It was then that Harry realized Wyatt wasn't aware that he hadn't known. He wanted to correct him, but he refrained and instead, acted like he knew what he was talking about.

"Yeah," Harry said. "But I'm getting to know him better now."

"I hope you know that I'm not trying to replace you," Wyatt suddenly said seriously. "If that was a concern at all."

"Wha - no, of course not. Not a concern." Harry nearly choked on what he was eating. "I never thought that."

"I always knew that it would be kind of a risk to start going out with Ginny," Wyatt admitted. "Especially with you away and inevitably set to return. I admit, I almost envisioned our relationship as one having an expiration date, but as we grew closer, I realized how deeply I cared for both her and Liam...and now that you're here, I'm actually quite relieved to realize that I don't have anything to worry about."

"What do you mean?"

"Well," Wyatt began sheepishly. "I mean, Ginny mentioned that you've got a girlfriend now, right? Sorry if I'm encroaching on a personal subject, but she had said something about it and, well, yes, I'm sorry. I'm not usually a very paranoid person but...I hope you understand."

Harry felt a strong pang of sympathy for Wyatt. He really loved Ginny.

"I do, Wyatt," he said. "And yes, I'm involved with someone else. The two of you are wonderful together."

Wyatt looked immensely relieved. "Thanks, Harry. You're incredible, you are."

Harry didn't know how to respond and thankfully, he didn't have to as soon as Ginny sat back down at the table.

"Interesting conversation here?"

Harry looked to Wyatt, who had resumed his eating, and then back at Ginny, who met his eye. They stared at each other for a brief moment and, after realizing what it was that they were doing, broke apart and resumed the evening, which had already far surpassed either of their expectations.

* * *

Back at the Burrow, Ginny was in her room balancing Liam on her lap as she attempted to read him a bedtime story.

"'Once there existed a dragon named Bernard...'" she read as Liam laughed in her lap.

"Dragon! Dragon!" he exclaimed. "I like dragons, Ma-ma!"

"You like dragons, Lee?" Ginny asked playfully. "Like this?"

And with that, Ginny pulled her wand out from her pocket and wordlessly sent sparks shooting into the air with a flick of her wrist. From the flurry of exploding red and purple lights emerged a smoky dragon, snapping its snout at the air around it and performing aerial maneuvers from spirals, backflips, and somersaults.

"Dragons!" exclaimed Liam giddily.

"Dragons indeed," said a voice from the doorway. When Ginny looked up, she found that it was Harry, still dressed in what he wore to dinner that night.

"They're some of his favorite," Ginny explained. "I try to get in a bedtime story at least three times a week, but sometimes he gets too excited and I resort to a few of these instead." She flicked her wand once more, and several spark storms scattered across the room, much to Liam's delight.

"That's some brilliant magic," Harry complimented her.

"Thanks," she said somewhat meekly. She didn't know what else to say.

"Listen, Gin," he said, taking note of how distracted Liam was with the several smoky dragons zooming around the room. "Last night...I didn't mean to-"

But Ginny put up her hand. She didn't want to perpetuate the conversation, especially when it had been exhausted so much. She wanted to put it all to rest.

"Harry, we're good. I understand and you don't need to apologize. If anything, I should be apologizing to you. I've got a lot to make up for." She looked down at Liam, who was grasping at the air.

Harry gave a small smile. "I'm going to go to bed...work tomorrow morning."

"Yeah, same." Ginny smiled back.

"Night," he said, turning around and shutting the door behind him.

Ginny sighed and then said, rather excitedly, to Liam, "Alright, Lee, let's go to bed!"

As the last of the smoky dragons rushed past her head and towards the ceiling, she felt the greatest sense of relief wash over her.

* * *

**AN: **I know, not the most exciting of chapters, but it's finally getting Harry and Wyatt talking, as well as setting up the rest of the chapters. This being the eighth chapter, there are four more planned chapters, as well as an epilogue after that, leading to a grand total of thirteen chapters. These next couple of chapters have a lot going on in them, especially this next one with Ron and Hermione's wedding! If there are any concerns about not enough exposure to Sarah's character, or more about Liam and his relationship with his parents, don't worry - all of that is coming up in the next chapters. Thank you all for being so patient with me and continuing to read, and I hope you liked it!


	9. Wonderful Day for a Wedding

**KEEPSAKE  
Post-Seven; Harry returns from Auror training to find Ginny with a one-year-old son that she claims to be theirs.**

**Disclaimer: All JKR's work.

* * *

**

**NINE: Wonderful Day for a Wedding**

As soon as the first week of June hit, it meant several things. First, it meant the return of sweltering summer heat, leading Mrs. Weasley to transfigure several fans into existence in several areas around the house, operating all day long and into the night. Second, it meant that Wyatt would be gone for nearly two weeks, so as to finish grading various papers and final exams in time for grades to reported by the end of the school year as well as to attend multiple end-of-the-year meetings that would keep him occupied and away from Ginny. And third, it meant that Ron and Hermione's wedding was in a matter of days.

It was more Mrs. Weasley's idea than Ron and Hermione's to have the wedding in June. Ron and Hermione didn't have a preference, really, but they knew that their lax tendencies for events such as this would result in the wedding being delayed for far much longer than necessary, perhaps even several years. Thus, Mrs. Weasley took it upon herself to set a wedding date and have plans set into motion. This way, she admitted only to herself, it would force Ron and Hermione to hopefully move out and find a place of their own, thereby emptying out the already-stuffed Burrow a little bit.

As a result, the first week of June was a hectic one, leaving only four days for preparation before the actual wedding. Harry was forced to repeat the motions that preceded Bill and Fleur's wedding a couple years ago with various tasks that led him to replacing sheets that had already been replaced as well as going outside to muck the chickens and de-gnome the garden. While Liam was napping, Ginny would help out by doing laundry, or repeatedly cleaning rooms that Molly would storm through anyway, performing her own cleaning spells as though Ginny's work was insufficient. Meanwhile, Ron and Hermione's only assigned task was to ensure that family would be able to make it, meaning that Hermione had to get her Muggle family affairs in order, while Ron had the unappealing task of contacting every Weasley he could for the wedding.

"Maybe I'll just skip Auntie Muriel for this wedding," Ron would say wistfully.

Meanwhile, matters between Ginny and Harry were better than before. After their brief encounter following dinner with Wyatt, both parties felt naturally more comfortable around the other, which meant no more arguments or awkward silences. In fact, Ginny felt as though it were like old times again, before Harry left for Auror training and the two of them were still together. Not necessarily in that sense, however, but just in the sense that they were close friends once more, this time bonding over spending time with their son.

For a fifteen month old, Liam was as active as they came. The toy broom George got for him became significantly slower as its charm slowly faded due to overuse, thereby leading Liam to lose interest in it. He always kept his golden snitch at his side, but these days, he preferred to run around in the garden, running for endless amounts of time and frightening the gnomes that lived out back and delaying wedding plans by making it difficult to clean around the mess he would leave in his wake. Ginny had a hard time keeping up with him, but she had Harry at his side to take her place whenever she grew tired. In fact, the three of them would take nightly trips to the lake, watching as their son ran near the shore.

Although seemingly impossible, Ginny's feelings for Harry grew even more complicated as the days wore on. Whereas before she was confused and uncertain about approaching him, they were now comfortable around each other, which presented new problems. Rather than thinking about how to talk to him, Ginny's issues now involved what to talk to him about. As soon as they stopped talking about Liam, it seemed as though there were no subjects left to discuss. And in addition to that, she found herself very unfamiliar with what it was like to have him around all the time. When they weren't talking, it was very simple to avoid him, but now, they spent plenty of time together, whether by means of wedding preparations or watching over Liam. And without Wyatt around, Ginny found herself seeing Harry in a different light, perhaps a more desirable light.

"You want him back?" Hermione asked her when Ginny finally brought up her insecurities.

"No, no...I don't know," Ginny admitted weakly. The two of them were in Hermione's room while Hermione was trying on her wedding dress; it was her grandmother's.

"It sounds a little like that," Hermione said as she tugged upwards on the dress.

"I just think that I'm finally ready for Harry to be fully involved in Liam's life," Ginny said.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Harry has been involved in Liam's life ever since he's come back. I think you mean that you want him to be fully involved in _your_ life."

"Well, I'll admit, it's a little strange seeing him around all the time now without arguing. It's wonderful, it is, but at the same time, it makes me recall the last time we were like this, which is when we were still together."

"You can be friends and not be together," Hermione said matter-of-factly.

"Of course I know that, but with Harry, it seems to be a little more complicated than that. I've always had a soft spot for him." With that, she remembered back when she was younger, when she would be rendered unable to speak whenever he was around.

"Ginny, what are you doing?" This time, Hermione's tone was serious. She turned away from the mirror to look at her directly. "What about Wyatt?"

"I love Wyatt!" Ginny replied defensively. "You know that!"

"Then why are you even doing so much as to _entertain_ the possibility of Harry? It's not smart and it isn't fair to Wyatt. Or to Sarah, for that matter," she added with finality.

"Sarah is a fling!"

"And what about Wyatt?"

Ginny found herself speechless all of a sudden. Wyatt was more than a fling, that was certain, but this was Harry they were talking about, Liam's father, her old flame...was he old...?

"I love Wyatt," Ginny repeated once more, almost as if to reassure herself.

"It must be difficult with Wyatt away," Hermione said, going back to putting on the dress. "But he's here for you and he loves you, too. So, if you continue to be as fickle-hearted as you are right now, at least be honest and tell him. He deserves that much."

Hermione's words hurt, but they were honest, too. Ginny felt the sting.

"Sarah is coming to the wedding, by the way," Hermione added.

"What!"

"Harry asked me, and I couldn't turn him down, could I? I think they're getting serious."

Ginny couldn't believe that Sarah was going to be here for the wedding, at her house. She was rather pleased that Harry had kept her at bay, so much so that she practically forgot she existed. But to have her here for the wedding...that was something else entirely.

Hermione walked over to where Ginny was sitting and bent over, looking at her with sympathetic eyes.

"Look, I don't mean to be a complete witch," Hermione explained. "But frankly, being blunt with you is the only way I can help you sort out your feelings to decide on what you actually want." She stood back up and went to the mirror once more, twisting and squirming to get the dress to fit perfectly.

Ginny found it strange that Hermione said "what you want," rather than specifically mentioning Wyatt.

* * *

Suddenly, it was Sunday, and it was the day of the wedding.

By four in the afternoon, Ginny was outside in the wide expanse of yard that had been cleaned and manicured for the wedding. Ron and Hermione had opted for an outdoor wedding, rather than one in a marquee or tent. However, by good fortune or otherwise, the sun was shining brightly in the sky and yet the air surrounding the area of the wedding remained cool and breezy. Ginny suspected magical handiwork, and yet she couldn't complain. She and Harry were in charge of guiding visitors to their seats and unlike Bill and Fleur's wedding, organization didn't seem to matter so much. So long as everyone sat on the proper side, seats were being offered on a first come, first served basis.

Ginny wished she could talk to Harry, especially once she found out that they were assigned the same pre-wedding task. However, Harry took it upon himself to guide Hermione's visitors, all of whom were arriving in larger throngs of people than they had anticipated. As a result, each of them had respective crowds to take care of, leaving no time for conversation. She wasn't sure exactly what she wanted to talk about, but part of her felt urgency in getting as much time with him before Sarah arrived.

In front of them, rows of white seats were lined up on either side of a long white carpet, set up so that they were facing a golden arch where the ceremony would soon take place, draped in white and adorned with silvery flowers. The same silvery petals were scattered throughout the area, creating a sparkling effect whenever the sunlight would hit them. Four silver columns were set in each corner of the area's perimeter, all of which were connected by the same draping that covered the wedding arch. Bells were hung from the drapery, all of which would jingle even at the lightest breeze.

When the crowd had finally died down and barely ten minutes were left until the ceremony began, Harry stood next to Ginny, sighing in relief.

"I swear, Hermione let on as though she didn't have much family."

"I think most of them came out of curiosity," Ginny replied, commenting on the left side populated by Muggles bemused by the Burrow looming not too far away.

"You look very pretty," Harry said suddenly, and Ginny felt her face fill with color. Although she didn't say it, she hadn't thought much about how she would look today. Much of her morning was spent trying to coerce Liam into his robes before eventually distracting him with a giant stuffed dragon as she prepared for the wedding herself. She was wearing a simple and strapless light blue dress with complementing silver heels, while her hair was tied back into an elegant ponytail.

"Oh, thank you," Ginny replied, nearly breathless. "You look rather exceptional yourself. Do you think we should take our positions at the front soon, seeing as you're the best man and I'm the maid of honor?"

"We've got time," Harry said, looking towards the Burrow from which no people were exiting, which meant that the wedding was not starting. "Besides, I'm waiting for Sarah to arrive - she's running late."

It felt like an ice pick stabbed at Ginny's heart. In the rush of the day, she had forgotten Sarah. Unwisely so.

"Oh yes...of course," Ginny said tersely.

"You should get to know her," Harry said. "I have a feeling the two of you would get along. It's only fair, seeing as you gave me a chance to get to know Wyatt. Oh look! There she is!"

Indeed, just as Harry finished his sentence, Ginny noticed a woman turn on the spot near the hedgerow not too far from where they were standing. Sarah's blond hair had been curled so that they framed her face delicately, lightly brushing the straps of her knee-length plum red dress. Once she saw where Harry was standing, she came hurrying towards them.

"I was afraid that I was late!" Sarah said, relieved. She went to give Harry a kiss on the cheek, causing Ginny to internally retch. Then she turned her attention to Ginny and she leaned in for a hug that she had no choice but to accept. "It's so nice to see you! Where's Liam? It's been a week since I've seen him last."

"He'll be coming in with his grandmother," Ginny replied. "He's the ring bearer, you see."

"How adorable!" Sarah gushed, smiling as she did so. Yet there was something strange about the way she handled herself. "You look very pretty, Ginny!"

"Thanks, Sarah...so do you. Maybe you should, erm, take a seat seeing as the wedding is about to start." Ginny was squirming beneath her skin.

"Ah, right! I'll go and take a seat on Ron's side - oh my, so many visitors!" Sarah remarked on the sea of red-headed witches and wizards on the right side. She rushed over to take a seat in one of the rows to the back.

"She made it on time," Harry said somewhat uncomfortably in an attempt to seem casual, sensing that Ginny wasn't too keen on Sarah's arrival.

"She saw Liam last week?"

"Erm...yeah, she did. We take him out to lunch once a week when we don't have work."

"_When_ exactly?"

"It changes, and you're always at work!" he replied defensively. "I can take him to lunch, can't I?"

"Yeah, of course, but - well, it's just that - I didn't know!"

"I figured you wouldn't want to be bothered at work," Harry said lowly, not wanting to draw attention to their conversation. "It's really not a big deal, Ginny. Sarah loves Liam, and he enjoys her, as well. Sarah and I have been together long enough that it's only fair to introduce him to Liam."

"The wedding is about to start," Ginny said, changing the subject immediately. "We should move to the front."

With that, Ginny marched up the carpet to stand to the side of the wedding arch, leaving Harry dumbfounded in the back. Yet in a matter of moments, classical music that seemed to be coming from nowhere and everywhere all at once started playing, sending him up the same way that Ginny came toward the front, from where he could see Ron and his parents coming from one side of the Burrow and Hermione and her parents out the other.

* * *

The sun was setting behind the hills in an explosive display of oranges, violets, and pinks when dinner ended and dancing officially began. In the hours following the ceremony, which lasted all of thirty minutes, many well wishers gathered around Ron and Hermione's table, which was shared only by their parents. As a result, Ginny had yet to send them her own well wishes, and she figured she would save it for later in the evening when they would become more accessible. She found herself sighing in happiness whenever she thought of the ceremony, which was simple yet emotional, leading her to near tears whenever she saw her mother dabbing away at her own and Hermione blinking them back mid-vow.

At the moment, Liam was with Neville at the lake, who had showed up only to the reception due to engagements at Hogwarts involved in his imminent hiring as Professor Sprout's successor. Neville informed Ginny that Luna couldn't make it due to her travels, but he assured her that a package was well on its way to the newlyweds, one that Ginny figured was Luna-esque in its own special way. Neville was enthralled by Liam, who had grown much in the last time that he had seen him, and Ginny offered to let him watch over him, allowing her some much needed time to herself at one of the tables off by itself.

She occupied herself by scanning the dance floor, seeing other old schoolmates such as Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnigan dancing with their respective girlfriends. She even saw Viktor Krum at the buffet table with his wife, both of whom Ron was unexpectedly eager to invite. Ginny had a sneaking suspicion that Ron only felt the way he did simply because he no longer felt threatened by Viktor.

Suddenly, Ginny noticed Harry walking across the dance floor towards Ron and Hermione, no doubt to offer his own well wishes. She hadn't seen him all afternoon - not that she wanted to - and figured that he was probably off with Sarah at some undisclosed location. However, he was walking alone and she was nowhere to be seen, which led Ginny to wonder where she was. When she couldn't see her anywhere, she made a motion to stand up and perhaps follow Harry, when,

"Hello."

Ginny looked around and found that Sarah was standing behind her with a glass of champagne in each hand.

"Could I interest you in a drink with me? Yours looks empty," Sarah said, gesturing at Ginny's finished glass.

"Sure," Ginny said, offering Sarah the seat next to her. Sarah handed her the other glass. "Thanks."

"To love," Sarah said, raising her glass towards Ginny.

"To love," Ginny repeated, albeit weakly. They toasted and drank, neither one of them saying anything once they finished.

Finally, Sarah asked, "What're you doing sitting alone?"

"Taking a break from some Mommy time. A friend is entertaining Liam over by the lake."

"I see. You know, I'm on to you." Suddenly, Sarah's polite countenance seemed to have dissipated.

Ginny swallowed hard. "Beg your pardon?"

"Harry is a good guy," Sarah continued as though she hadn't heard Ginny; she wasn't smiling. "And a good father, now that he's been given the chance with Liam. And all of this is happening just in time for you to start realizing that you want him back."

"Does he know that you're talking to me?" Ginny asked, unaware of how to respond to what she had said.

"Of course not," Sarah replied with a slight chuckle. "He's too nice to tell you himself that whatever it is that you're hoping for with him, whatever it is that you're _thinking_ might start up again - well, it's over. Do yourself a favor and keep from deluding yourself into more fantasies. He's involved with _me_ now, just as you're involved with Wyatt. Or did you forget about him?"

Ginny was taken aback. She hadn't expected any of this out of Sarah. Up until now, she seemed like a perfectly kind woman whose silence Ginny had always been thankful for as it meant minimal interaction with the new woman in Harry's life. But now that they were having their first real conversation, Ginny was certain that she didn't like what she was seeing.

"Harry is Liam's father, and that's it," Ginny said definitively. But even then, she could sense her own hesitation in her words. "If you see otherwise, I can't help you. Wyatt is the man in my life."

"Don't make me laugh," Sarah sneered. Suddenly, her pretty facial features didn't seem so attractive anymore. "Do you think that Harry doesn't tell me about your little flare ups, your little arguments? One moment you're hiding his son from him, and the next you suddenly just want him _involved_? Although, I admit, if you hadn't lied to him, I wouldn't be with him now, would I?"

The thought, though tantalizing, paled in comparison to the conversation that they were having.

"I always wanted Harry involved in Liam's life!" Ginny retorted, keeping her voice down so as not to attract attention. "And I don't have to explain anything to you. Don't go about acting like you know _something_. I was here for Harry long before you came traipsing along."

"'Here for Harry?' Oh please! If you were here for Harry, you would have told him about Liam, rather than keeping him from his son. And if anyone is 'here for Harry,' it would have to be me, wouldn't it? _Harry's girlfriend_." Sarah smiled maliciously as she enunciated the last part.

"Yeah, well I'm sure Harry wouldn't be so thrilled to have such a two-faced girlfriend," Ginny said. Her face was heating up and she could feel her composure cracking.

"I'm not two-faced," Sarah replied matter-of-factly. "And he wouldn't believe you anyway, not when he's grown so used to your false words. I'm only doing what he's incapable of doing himself: telling you off."

Ginny stood up, knowing that if the conversation continued past this point, wands would be drawn. "I'm leaving."

"Don't bother," Sarah said, standing up after her. "I've got to go anyway. Now that you know your place, back away from Harry and go back to your boyfriend before you permanently damage another man's heart." And with that, Sarah walked away towards the dance floor and towards Harry.


	10. Boils and Bludgers

**KEEPSAKE  
Post-Seven; Harry returns from Auror training to find Ginny with a one-year-old son that she claims to be theirs.**

**Disclaimer: All JKR's work.**

**

* * *

**

**TEN: Boils and Bludgers**

With Ron and Hermione off on their honeymoon, Ginny was left to sort through the mess following the wedding all on her own.

As much as she wanted to tell Harry about the conversation with Sarah, she knew that she wouldn't be able to. After having kept the truth from Harry for so long, the last thing Ginny needed to do was kick Harry's girlfriend out of the picture; it would have dealt an irreparable blow to their already fraught relationship. She knew that Sarah had to either leave of her own accord, or Harry would have to figure everything out on his own. And with Sarah seemingly determined to stay around as long as she could, Ginny relied entirely on the latter, although not too confidently. She was scared that if she upset Harry enough, he might leave their lives entirely with or without Sarah and leaving Liam without his father.

As for Wyatt, Ginny knew that she couldn't avoid the truth any longer. Perfect though he may have seemed for both Ginny and Liam, she couldn't deny that her heart still resided with Harry - that much was certain. Her desire to be near him all the time was no longer a symptom of yearning for friendship, but for something more. She loved Wyatt, but she found that the love had transformed and that, more than ever, she had been going through the motions of a relationship that should have ended when Harry came back. She longed for Wyatt to be the man she wanted, but she couldn't help it. It was Harry all along.

And so Ginny knew what she had to do. She would do it as soon as Wyatt was finished with his grading for the school year as there was no point in drawing it out longer than it had to be. She simply couldn't betray him any longer.

Harry, on the other hand, was harder to approach. Ginny didn't want to ruin the good nature of their current relationship, and she didn't want to bring attention to a problem when Harry was so blissfully unaware of what Ginny was feeling, or the conflict between Ginny and Sarah. Meanwhile, Sarah visited the Burrow more often, or so it seemed, since Ginny no longer hid in her room whenever she was around. She would be in the living room playing with Liam or reading a book whenever Harry brought Sarah over, whose distaste for Ginny was painfully apparent every time the two made eye contact behind Harry's back. The daggers that seemed to fling themselves from their eyes implied only one thing: _Stay away._

Ginny obliged...for now.

* * *

By the week's end, Ginny knew that the unavoidable was just around the corner. She had thoughts of doing it at his workplace, in his classroom where she wouldn't have to see him in familiar quarters anymore and they could leave it at a clean split. However, she saw this as the coward's way out, and thought that she owed it to Wyatt to at least have the conversation somewhere he felt comfortable, somewhere he could throw her out from if he felt it necessary: his home.

She called him the night before so that he knew to expect her when he got home the next night. Ginny waited for thirty minutes in his living room, although it seemed like an eternity before the fireplace blazed with emerald behind her.

As soon as Wyatt stepped out from the fireplace, Ginny stood up and took a deep breath before facing him. Although it had only been a week, Ginny felt as though it had been ages since they had last seen each other. He looked weathered and tired from a week's worth of grading papers, and yet his face lit up when he saw her.

"I should have been home sooner," Wyatt explained as he shed his coat. "But I stopped by Diagon Alley."

"I was going to say," Ginny said. "You usually come through the front door."

"Yes, well, something different now and then is always good." Wyatt walked towards Ginny and gave her a hug.

As soon as they parted, Ginny knew that now was the moment. The words, fully formed, were practically pushing against her mouth and begging to come out; there was no more time for preparation.

"We need to talk," Ginny said seriously. "Let's sit."

Wyatt looked at Ginny curiously for a moment, as though he was expecting some sort of fake out. But when he saw that Ginny's expression remained the same, he sighed, scratched the top of his head, and then laughed meekly.

"Oh, Merlin," Wyatt said, heaving a sigh as he did so. "This is it, isn't it?"

"Why don't we sit?" Ginny asked, not knowing what to do with herself. She still didn't know why he had laughed.

Wyatt fell onto the couch and took hold of Ginny's hand, pulling her to sit next to him. She was clearly nervous, and yet Wyatt only smiled at her.

"Ginny...it's perfectly fine. I know where this is going."

"B-But I want to say it. I-I need to say it so that you know everything," Ginny stammered. Never before had she felt so uncomfortable sitting next to him.

"Alright. Go ahead then," Wyatt said understandingly. "I'm listening."

"You're everything I could want," Ginny started slowly, fighting back the urge to cry. "You're loving, you're understanding, and you've done so well with Liam. But..." Her voice started to trail off and she found herself incapable of speaking.

"Oh Ginny, please don't," Wyatt said, wrapping an arm around her shaking shoulders. "Don't force yourself to say this. I've seen this coming for a while now."

Ginny looked up at him with tears beginning to streak down her face. "You have?"

Wyatt nodded. "I knew ever since you were so worked up over Harry's new girlfriend. I admit, I tried my best to ignore that little part, but when I saw the two of you looking at each other at dinner - oh yes, I saw - I knew it was only a matter of time."

Ginny thought of a million different reasons, but she didn't mention any of them.

"I thought that I didn't feel the same way anymore," Ginny admitted. "When you said that I just wasn't used to change, I was so sure that I didn't feel the same way anymore."

"And yet," Wyatt said thoughtfully, "you can't help yourself. Feelings are feelings, not rational thought. And if you feel this way, it's nothing that can be helped. Not by you, and certainly not by me. _I understand_."

Ginny shook her head. "God, it's not fair. I love you, Wyatt. I really do. Just not-" Her voice broke off.

"Just not in the same way," Wyatt finished for her. "It's okay to say it. I love you, too. But perhaps it's a love better suited for friendship. You know?"

Ginny wiped her eyes. "Friendship?"

Wyatt laughed earnestly. "Yes, friendship. We can stay friends, can't we? The only way that I could possibly be upset with you in this whole situation is if you were to say that we couldn't be."

"Of course, of course we can stay friends," Ginny said, the possibility of keeping Wyatt in her life exciting her.

"Good." Wyatt leaned against the back of the couch. With his eyes closed, he said, "I'd still very much like to see Liam, though."

"I'd like that, too," Ginny said. "We'll have to take him out once in a while."

"Excellent."

"So..." Ginny took a deep breath. "Are we...are we good?"

Wyatt thought for a minute, and then said, "Are you still trying out for the Holyhead Harpies?"

Ginny nearly forgot. Try outs were coming up in a matter of days, and the stress of everything else had pushed them out of her mind.

"Yes! Yes, I am," Ginny replied confidently.

"Then yes, we're good," Wyatt said with a smile. "You're an excellent Quidditch player, Ginny, that shouldn't go to waste. Come here." He extended his arm again, and wrapped Ginny in a sideways hug. "Don't let this Sarah woman get in the way. Make it work with him, Ginny. If it were me…I'd do anything."

Ginny nodded slightly, still wrapped in the comfort of Wyatt's hug. She made a mental image of the next couple of days, and hoped that she hadn't just made a mistake.

* * *

Rather than directly Floo-ing from Wyatt's place back home that night, Ginny decided to take a cab and walk the remainder of the distance to the Burrow. Once upon a time, walking after nightfall would have been a dangerous endeavor, but these days, it was nothing more than a means of gathering thoughts, sorting them out, and altogether relieving oneself. On the walk through the beaten path and the subsequent fields, Ginny couldn't deny that the anxiety that had swelled up inside her over the past couple days had disappeared entirely, leaving her feeling fresh and freer than she had in a long time. Now, she was in charge of what she wanted to do.

When Ginny entered the front door into the Burrow, she was surprised to find that the living room was empty, save for one person.

"Sarah," Ginny said, taken aback. "What are you - what are you doing here?"

Sarah was sitting on the couch, legs crossed, with a rather impatient look spread across her face. When she saw Ginny walk in, an expression somewhere between displeasure and mild excitement replaced it. She even smiled slyly.

"I'm supposed to meet Harry," Sarah replied. "He ought to be coming back from the Ministry any minute. We're having a late lunch, you see."

"Oh, nice," Ginny said softly, wanting more than anything to just ignore Sarah and head back upstairs. Yet as she motioned to head for the stair case, Sarah called out to her.

"Not so fast," she said, standing up and straightening out her top.

"I'm going to my son, if you don't mind," Ginny said acidly.

"He's with your mum at the moment," Sarah explained to her. "She said he was 'too busy' to play with visitors, honestly, a toddler 'too busy...'"

Ginny felt gratitude towards her mother swell within her.

"Regardless," Sarah continued, "at least we can have a little talk."

"What about?" Ginny asked wearily. "I was under the impression that we'd talked about everything that needed to be discussed."

"You'd like that, wouldn't you? I just thought it imperative to remind you once more to keep away from Harry."

"I have been, in case you haven't noticed," Ginny said coolly.

"That doesn't mean I haven't seen the desperation in your eyes every time he walks by," Sarah snarled. "Honestly, could you at least make an attempt to seem less _needy_? Harry is still my boyfriend and he loves me, although I could hardly say the same for yours."

Ginny kept silent, anger surging through every part of her body. She refrained from mentioning her break up with Wyatt, not wanting to give her any more unneeded ammunition.

"And don't even start getting ideas about seeing him at work," Sarah proceeded, clearly enjoying this roll she was on. "If you're even thinking about cornering him with any clandestine meetings without my knowledge, I'd advise you to stop now. Not only am I at the Ministry most of the time that you are, but Harry reports everything back to me. He's rather loyal, you know..."

"He's not a _dog_," Ginny said, secretly grabbing the side of her coat pocket, where her wand resided.

"When I'm done with him, he might as well be," Sarah said, with a cruel smile on her face. "And once he's fully devoted to me in a way that he was never devoted to you, I'll _make sure_ that he never returns to this filthy place again, where he'll never have to deal with you ever again, or Liam, for that matter, once he's had his _real _children-"

Ginny would have wanted to hear the rest of what Sarah had to tell her, but everything happened so quickly that she never got the opportunity. She plunged her arm into her coat pocket and immediately whipped out her wand, slashing at the air towards Sarah as she cried out,

"_FURNUNCULUS!_"

The effects of Ginny's curse were noticeable immediately. Sarah, who must have been rendered silent in the moment, stood before Ginny completely still, her eyes wide in shock. As she did so, large boils began sprouting out from nowhere all over her face. Red and bulbous, the wave of boils spread across Sarah's face, neck, arms and - from what Ginny could assume - her back and legs. When she realized what was happening, Sarah yelped in pain and grabbed at her face, immediately flinging her hands aside from the pain.

"You monster!" Sarah cried aloud, pointing a trembling and boil-covered finger at Ginny.

Ginny, realizing what she had just done, ran up the stairs as fast as she could toward her room, flinging the door open and slamming it behind her before realizing that there were two people in there with her.

"Ginny!" Molly exclaimed, standing up from the bed where she was sitting. "I heard yelling. What happened?"

Ginny was breathless. She saw Liam's sleeping figure on her bed.

"I - I, erm, I just cursed Sarah," Ginny said, panting. "She's downstairs now..."

Molly flung into action and though Ginny knew that she didn't want to, rushed out the door and downstairs to tend to Ginny's victim.

The next day, Ginny found herself wanting to avoid everybody. In the morning, she considered bring Liam to work with her simply out of fear of being alone and confronted by whoever it was that she might see later on in the day, but she knew better. Instead, she left Liam in Molly's care once more, feeling something other than remorse yet something very similar.

"From what it sounds like, she wanted some sort of reaction out of you," Molly said, carrying Liam in her arms. The toddler was playing with his snitch once more, although he watched his mother's worried face from time to time, aware that something was wrong.

"But I shouldn't have given her one," Ginny said as she prepared to go to work. "I can only imagine what Harry thought."

"I fixed her up and sent her away before Harry could arrive," Molly explained. "I told her she ought to get some rest, but I can't assure you that she didn't tell Harry the moment he rushed to her side. In fact, it was probably the first thing she did."

"Damn." Ginny grabbed her bag and gave Liam a swift kiss on the cheek, who started laughing immediately. "I've got to get to work - Holyhead Harpies try outs are today and I thought...well, maybe."

Molly set down Liam on the floor and gave her daughter a big hug before grabbing her face and looking her directly in the eye.

"You'll do fine, sweet," Molly said soothingly. "If you see Harry...talk to him."

Ginny shrugged half-heartedly and stepped into the fireplace.

* * *

For the first half of the day, everything went smoothly. Try outs weren't until later in the afternoon, around five, and by one past noon, Ginny still hadn't run into Harry or Sarah. However, by two in the afternoon, Ginny's fortunes had changed.

Ginny was walking down the hallways of her department when she saw Harry turn a corner ahead of her. He looked as though he had been searching for her.

"There you are," Harry said exasperatedly, heading towards her.

Ginny wanted to run and hide, but she knew that there was no way to do so right now. She had to face Harry eventually. With this in mind, she put on an expression comprised of bravery, conviction, and slight obliviousness; in an ideal world, she would be able to get away with pretending like she didn't know what had happened.

"Were you looking for me?"

"What do you think?" Harry asked, folding his arms in front of her. "Did you believe that you could hex Sarah and get off acting as though nothing happened?"

Ginny was thankful that the hallways were empty; this wasn't an argument that needed to be publicized.

"I'm not pretending here, Harry." She had both hands on her hips and felt more empowered than she had in a long time. For the first time in a long time, she didn't feel like she was looking up at Harry to speak. "I had good reason."

"Good reason to attack her with your wand, when she didn't even pull hers out?" Harry narrowed his eyes at Ginny.

"It's not like she needed a wand, not when her words were poisonous enough," Ginny said coolly. "You should have heard the awful things she said! She was making it seem as though you were her pet, as though you were under her control-"

"Her _pet_?" Harry looked at her suspiciously. "Sarah said that you were threatening her!"

Ginny might as well have flung her wand out and hexed Harry as well out of the anger that she felt. "_Me_? Threatening _her_, and stooping down to her level? What a laugh! She was the one who was telling me to back away, that with time, she would take you away from me and Liam so that you could have your 'real family.'"

"My 'real family?'" Harry appeared to be offended. "And what is that supposed to mean?"

"Hell if I know!" Ginny cried out, her voice reverberating down the hall. "She seems to be under the impression that I'm _desperate_ for your attention, Harry, that I'm encroaching on her territory. Well, I have news for both of you. Not only am I not interested, but the fact of the matter is that you and I are only friendly solely for Liam's sake, and if your loyalty lies with _her_ as opposed to me and Liam, then so be it!" Ginny hadn't been angry with Harry before this, but as soon as she saw whose side Harry was leaning towards, she couldn't help it.

"Is that it then? You and I...we bother with each other solely because of Liam?" Traces of disappointment lingered in Harry's voice, but they were quickly masked by impatience and bitterness.

"Why else would we be? You've got Sarah and I've got..." Ginny's voice trailed off before she gave a little cough and finished quietly with, "...Wyatt."

When Harry spoke next, he spoke softly.

"I wanted to hear your side of the story."

Ginny sighed. "I was going to give it to you, but you hardly gave me the chance. Not that it would have mattered anyway, not when you've grown so used to my lying. Isn't that it? If I couldn't tell you the truth about Liam, then why would I be telling you the truth about what happened last night? Is that what's running through your head?"

Harry frowned and shook his head. He looked defeated.

"I...I can't do this, Ginny. It's too difficult."

Ginny wanted to add something, but she figured there was nothing left to say. She stood there, resolute.

"I'm going back to my office," Harry sighed, turning around and leaving Ginny alone in the hallway.

* * *

Guilt crept up on Ginny throughout the afternoon, even as she waited for her turn during the Holyhead Harpies try outs. But before it ever brought her to the point of wanting to actually apologize to Harry, Sarah's face would suddenly emblazon itself in her mind, and anger tore through her once more. And so, sitting there with the other waiting witches, Ginny felt like she was in a stalemate.

"Ginevra Weasley!" came a resounding voice. "Ginevra Weasley, you're up!"

Ginny didn't check to see if the voice was Gwenog Jones's, her favorite Quidditch player and childhood idol. Even now, she would have toppled over to have just met Gwenog rather than reporting on her, but the tumult of emotions stirring in her mind distracted her from everything around.

Ginny stepped out of the shed she had been waiting in and onto the pitch, touting her broom at her side. Once out in the orange sunlight, she straddled her broomstick and kicked upwards, flying towards the goalposts where she was designated to wait for instructions. Other players flew from nowhere, surrounding her.

"Ginevra Weasley, we see hear that you are trying out for the position of Seeker," came the voice once more, this time amplified and booming across the pitch. "For the position of Seeker, your try-out will consist simply of obtaining the Golden Snitch, during which you must maneuver through the goings-on of the surrounding game. Your skill and technique will be especially observed during this time."

Ginny nodded, although she didn't know if they could see her.

"On our whistle...3, 2, 1!" The whistle resounded throughout the pitch and everyone around her leapt into action as the Quaffles and Bludgers were released.

Ginny caught a glimpse of gold out of the corner of her eye, and sped towards it with deliberation.

Whenever she flew, Ginny thought of Harry. She still remembered seeing Harry during her first Quidditch game, shuttling between waiting and then sudden speed whenever the Golden Snitch made its appearance. She hadn't flown in a while, she realized when she narrowly avoided a Bludger. During her sixth year, Quidditch had been banned under Snape's regime, and so her last real memory of flying with Harry happened to be her fifth year, when he was captain. She still recalled when Harry couldn't play during the Quidditch Cup because of his detention...and the kiss they shared immediately after in the common room when he discovered they had won...

How different she had been back then. Bolder. Braver. Brazen. These were all words that she had heard people describe her before, and how disappointing it was to have realized that she had fallen from such status. Who was she now? She was a mother and, sure, that came with its own set of changes. But she didn't think she would have changed that much. Was she bound to be tormented by thoughts of Harry, by Sarah's threats, for the remainder of her life?

"Oi!" called one of the players with urgency.

But it was too late. When Ginny spun her broom around, the last thing she saw was the Bludger, hurtling in her direction.

* * *

**AN:** Hope you guys enjoyed it!


	11. The Waiting Room

**KEEPSAKE  
Post-Seven; Harry returns from Auror training to find Ginny with a one-year-old son that she claims to be theirs.**

**Disclaimer: All JKR's work.**

**

* * *

**

**ELEVEN: The Waiting Room**

When Harry heard of Ginny's injury, he had been preparing to leave for the day. It wasn't until one of Ginny's coworkers, Carol Reeves, ran into his office, stricken with panic.

"It's Ginny! She's been hurt!" She panted at Harry.

"What? Where is she?" Harry found that his heart was suddenly pounding hard, nearly bursting out of his chest.

"A Bludger hit her during her try-out," Carol said, and Harry realized that she must have been trying out too, based on the Quidditch gear she was wearing. "She's been sent to St. Mungo's now."

Harry muttered small words of thanks, and immediately leapt into action. He gathered all of his belongings and rushed out the door and headed towards the nearest fireplace where he could Floo to St. Mungo's. In his mad rush, remorse quickly replaced his concern as he remembered their last words.

How could those have been the last things he told her? Why was it that the past month had been so turbulent? All Harry had wanted before he came back home from Auror training was to see Ginny's face, and it was all he could do these days to avoid it for the sake of avoiding another argument. And now, after their most recent argument, Ginny was lying in some hospital bed in St. Mungo's, alone and without family.

Why hadn't she flown away from the Bludger? It couldn't have been that close of a call for her to have not reacted as she should have. Harry remembered; Ginny was a skilled flyer, one who never got injured. And suddenly, now? Was it his fault? The image of Liam sitting at home, waiting for one of his parents to return, filled his mind.

_Damn it_, Harry cursed himself under his breath.

Harry rounded on the fireplace and stepped inside after grabbing a handful of powder. After dropping his handful and enunciating "St. Mungo's," he disappeared in an explosion of emerald before landing in the unmistakable ground floor of St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries.

Harry hurried to the front desk, which was thankfully unoccupied by other witches and wizards. The receptionist, a young witch with long black hair streaked with blue, didn't look up when Harry approached.

"Er, I'm here for a Ginny Weasley?"

"Injury or malady?" The witch still didn't look up.

"I think she got - she got hit with a Bludger!" Harry's impatience was showing itself.

"Ground floor," the witch said casually.

"Thanks, I guess," Harry replied, spinning around to see a hallway branching away from the reception area. He assumed that that was the right direction. He hurried away, his mind racing with thoughts of being the first one to be at Ginny's side, to see her hopefully awake, to apologize for the argument they had...

"Harry!" a familiar voice cried out to him.

Harry looked around and before him, he saw Ron and Hermione rushing towards him, still dressed in undeniably tropical clothing. In fact, they looked extremely out of place in the context of worried-looking visitors interspersed with calm and collected Healers.

"Wha - What are you guys doing here?" Harry asked as Hermione engulfed him in a hug. Yet he was extremely thankful to have seen familiar faces. "You two should still be on your honeymoon!"

"Mum called," Ron replied simply, giving Harry a one-armed hug. "We heard about Ginny. Blimey, a Bludger? I thought Ginny was better than that."

"She must have had something on her mind, that's the only way to explain it," Hermione said knowingly, giving Harry a small glance as she did so. "Anyway, Ron's mum said to meet them somewhere down here, I think..." She pointed down the hallway and the three of them ran down, weaving in and out of slower visitors ambling their way to the different doors that lined the hall.

Soon, they saw Molly standing worriedly holding Liam at the end of the hall, which opened up into a small waiting area. With her was the rest of the Weasley family, including Arthur, George, Bill, and Charlie. Wyatt was noticeably absent, and yet Harry was more surprised to see that Bill and Charlie had come from...wherever they were to be here. He always appreciated the closeness of the Weasley clan.

"Oh, you three!" Molly exclaimed, her eyes red with what must have been minutes of crying. Liam exploded with giddiness in Molly's arms.

"Da-da!" Liam cried out, bouncing in excitement. "Da-da!"

"Hello, you," Harry said, the happiest he'd been in a long time as soon as Molly handed him his son. In his arms, Liam was laughing, grabbing at Harry's glasses and stacking them on top of his head.

"Refreshing to see someone so happy," Ron sighed happily, patting the back of Liam's head, filled with thick black hair. "How is she?"

"Good," Molly replied tearily. "She has a concussion, I think, but she should be fine. It wasn't a magic-related injury so there's...that." Tears were streaming down Molly's face once more.

"They've run tests already, and she's resting for the moment," Arthur Weasley said, standing up and wrapping an arm around his wife's trembling shoulders.

"They move fast then," Harry said, realizing it hadn't even been fifteen minutes since he left the Ministry.

"There's St. Mungo's for you," Bill said, standing up and approaching them with Charlie. His scarred face looked better than ever; time had done much to heal him.

"Where's Fleur?" Ron asked, acknowledging the noticeable absence of his Phlegm-y sister-in-law.

"She's at home; her morning sickness is getting quite worse," Bill said calmly. "I was actually about to leave - I just wanted to make sure that Ginny was okay."

"Same," Charlie said, speaking for the first time. "I've got to get back to Romania. We've got an egg hatching sometime later this evening."

"Make sure you visit more," Molly said, hugging her second son tightly. "If you can come from Romania that quickly, you can afford a visit here now and then. And if you've met a girl, make sure to tell us!" she added, much to her son's irritation.

"Work is his mistress," Bill said jokingly, punching his brother's arm. "I'll be back soon, Mum. Keep us updated on Ginny's status." And with another hug from both of them, Bill and Charlie walked down the hall, all of them watching until they disappeared around a corner.

Harry held Liam close to him, closing his eyes as he inhaled deeply. Liam had that unmistakable baby smell, the kind that didn't quite have a word to describe it but instead relied on the experience and the feeling one had to inform just what it was. Harry immediately felt at ease to be so close to his son, to have him in his arms where he was safe and secure. Liam didn't understand the situation at hand, but he must have sensed his father's worry because he placed his glasses back on his face, albeit askew.

"Da," Liam muttered, patting Harry's face with one of his tiny hands.

Harry smiled widely, feeling more relieved. It wasn't until this moment that Harry truly realized how much Liam looked like Ginny. Sure, he had his black hair, but he had Ginny's distinct brown eyes, like two small pools of amber. The look of concern Liam was giving him right now, with a raised brow and slightly pursed lips, was extremely reminiscent of Ginny's own expression whenever she could sense something was wrong with Harry. He had a light dusting of freckles across his cheeks, the same kind of freckles that all the Weasley children had. Harry gave his son a kiss on the cheek to assuage his fears, and Liam responded with another giggle.

"Everything's alright," Harry told Liam, although more for his sake.

"Harry?" came Hermione's wary voice.

"Yeah?"

"Can I talk to you for a moment?" Hermione didn't want to disturb the moment that Harry was clearly sharing with his son, but it was an important conversation that needed to happen.

"Oh, sure," Harry said, handing Liam over to Ron. "Over in the hall?"

Harry followed Hermione down the corridor, which had become empty in the past couple of minutes. She leaned against the wall, her arms folder, and her eyes focused directly on Harry with some underlying concern.

"What's the matter, Hermione?" Harry had a sneaking suspicion he knew where the conversation was leading.

"Well...when Ron's mum called, she mentioned that something had happened between Ginny and Sarah," Hermione started gingerly. "She didn't give full details, but apparently Ginny hexed Sarah? Now, I haven't heard both sides, but they're all worried about you. They're scared that Ginny might be pushing you away."

"No!" Harry replied immediately. "No, of course not! I'm just...I'm just confused, that's all. I'm hearing different things. Ginny and I actually...well, we got into an argument earlier today."

"Oh..." Hermione's voice trailed off. She kept her gaze on Harry, and she could see the obvious guilt etched in his face. "It...it wasn't your fault, Harry. Ginny's had a lot on her mind for a long time now, and that argument must have been another thing to add to her confusion."

"But you see? It's my fault, then. Maybe if I'd never brought Sarah along...I don't know, it might have made things easier."

"No one said this was going to be easy," Hermione reminded him, albeit redundantly. "All that matters right now is...what are you going to do about the situation? Who are you going to believe?"

"Believe?" Harry repeated. "As in, I have to pick sides?"

"Right - it doesn't sound very pleasant, but at the end of the day, it's something that you're going to have to do and deep down, you know that it's true. Are you going to trust Ginny, or are you going to go along with what Sarah told you?"

Harry shook his head, the choice already bewildering him. "I can't just make that choice, Hermione. They're both important to me. It's like choosing between...I don't know, your left arm and your right arm. You can't really choose, can you?"

"While I wouldn't choose that metaphor, I know what you're getting at, Harry," Hermione said understandingly. "The thing is, though, your feelings here are getting in the way of your logic. On the one hand, you want to believe the woman that you're with right now, but at the same time, you want to hear what the mother of your son has to say. And you want to believe that both of them are telling you the truth, even though it's clear that one of them isn't. I'm just going to tell you the same thing I told Ginny - you have to sort out your feelings to see what you want. Deep down, perhaps deeper than where you can recognize it, you know what you want. And you have to sort through the muddle before you can see that."

"What I want..." Harry said softly. Ginny's face appeared in his mind, before Sarah's replaced it. "I'm going to lose either way."

"Think about what you want first," Hermione advised. "Because once you recognize what it is that you want, it won't feel so much like you're losing something when the time comes."

"But I like Sarah - a lot," Harry added. "I love spending time with her and she's been a very supportive girlfriend..."

"And then there's Ginny," Hermione said simply.

Confusion had never tormented Harry as badly as it had now. Maybe it was good that Sarah wasn't here right now, and that he couldn't visit Ginny at the moment. This was the right time to clear his head, to help clarify matters, especially when Wyatt's face popped up in Harry's mind, much to his displeasure.

Hermione gave Harry a sympathetic smile and hugged him. "It's going to work out, Harry. I swear."

"I hope so," Harry said into Hermione's shoulder. "I hope so."

* * *

As the evening progressed, the waiting room became emptier. George was the first to leave, claiming he had to return to Angelina, with whom he had plans to celebrate their anniversary at dinner that night. Soon afterwards, Arthur went home to tend to some housework. Molly eventually left with some encouragement from Harry, Ron and Hermione, although she demanded that they contact her in the event of any developments. Finally, Harry told Ron and Hermione to go back and enjoy their honeymoon, an offer that they refused, leading Harry to tell them to simply go home then so that they could come if they were needed. They offered to take Liam with them, but Harry declined, wanting to spend more time with his son.

It turned out that Ginny had more than just a concussion. Having fallen nearly a hundred feet, Ginny had also broken an arm and broken her ankle, in spite of (or perhaps because of) an ill-performed Cushioning Charm from one of the judges. Her arm was so far beyond repair with simple healing techniques, meaning she required a bottle of Skele-Gro for proper treatment. As a result, Harry and Liam couldn't visit her just yet, allotting her more time to rest and recover.

But that was fine with Harry. Liam was sleeping anyway, sprawled across the chairs with his head resting on Harry's lap. His toy Golden Snitch had fallen out of his pocket and rolled out onto the floor, which Harry Summoned with his wand. Twirling the tiny golden ball in his hand, Harry felt a strong sense of longing to play Quidditch, with it having been years since playing a proper game. There were times during Auror training that they would fly for fun, but it was never an actual game. Harry suddenly had a vision of teaching Liam how to play...of going to his first Quidditch game at Hogwarts...

He was getting ahead of himself. Liam was only sixteen months old, with practically an eternity before he would get to the age that his letter to Hogwarts would arrive by owl post, before he would be off to explore the world in the same way that Harry did. And the whole time, Harry would have..._someone_ at his side. The wife in his mind was faceless, lacking an identity.

At the same time, someone had just entered the waiting area. Harry had been expecting most visitors to be upstairs in the visitor's tearoom, and was surprised when he saw the man run in, looking around in a frenzy.

"Wyatt," Harry said, conjuring a pillow with his wand and gently placing it beneath Liam's head as he stood up. "Ginny's fine...she's resting right now."

Wyatt let out a sigh of relief, smiling weakly.

"Merlin, I was so worried. Hermione had given me the call...but I was in class...oh God, a _Bludger_?"

"It's not as bad as it sounds," Harry said reassuringly. "Ginny's a strong girl. You have nothing to worry about."

"Yeah...is she awake? Do you know?"

"I haven't seen her yet," Harry admitted. "Just waiting out here. Everyone else went home, and I promised I'd call them if they were needed. Just me and the boy here," he said, gesturing to Liam's sleeping figure.

"Ah, yeah." Wyatt looked troubled, as though something else were on his mind, as though he had something else he wanted to say.

"Is there something else wrong?" Harry asked, sensing this of Wyatt.

"Oh...well, I mean - it's not - I shouldn't ask because it's not my place, but I...I was wondering though, Harry...if you and Ginny were together now?"

Harry was genuinely confused. Was Wyatt playing some game with him, testing him? What did he mean by "together?" Wyatt looked extremely exhausted after asking the question.

"I'm sorry, Wyatt, but...what do you mean? Ginny and I aren't together...you two are!" Harry added stupidly.

Wyatt eyed Harry suspiciously. "No...no we aren't. Hadn't she told you? We ended things just yesterday...I admit, I had kind of expected you two to be together, already. I mean, I told her-"

"You _told _her?" Harry was perplexed. "Wait, the two of you aren't together anymore? What happened?"

Wyatt shook his head. "Look, it's not important. Let Ginny fill you in on everything...it's not my place, it really isn't. I'm sure she would want to explain it to you herself. I'm fine, though," Wyatt said, seeing the look on Harry's face. "It's better this way, it really is. Ginny and I were heading down this direction for a while now and…well, we're both okay. We're staying friends, so I assume this won't be the last time I see you...

"But if she's resting," Wyatt said softly, "then I'll go and just come back another time, or perhaps drop by at the Burrow once she's out. I've got papers to grade as it is and…I'm sure she'd want you two-" he looked at Liam, "- to be the first people she sees."

"What? Wait, Wyatt-"

"Harry, look. Trust me, it's fine. I'm happy, and Ginny will be happy when she sees you. I just needed to know that she was fine, that she wasn't hurt badly or anything. You're right - Ginny is a strong girl. It's okay if I'm not here right away. Just give her my regards, will you?"

"Alright," Harry replied simply, understanding that he couldn't change anything. As it was, he was still confused.

"Thanks, Harry," Wyatt said, managing a smile before he left and headed down the corridor.

* * *

It was nearly midnight when a Healer in lime green robes stepped out of one of the rooms to tap a sleepy Harry's shoulder. Liam stirred a bit, but did not wake up.

"Mr. Potter? She's awake right now, if you'd like to see her."

"Wha - oh, yeah. Okay. Liam...Liam, wake up," Harry whispered, shaking his son's shoulder. "Come, it's time to see Mama!"

* * *

**AN: **I'm finally finishing things up, and I hope you guys enjoyed it!


	12. The Three Women

**KEEPSAKE  
Post-Seven; Harry returns from Auror training to find Ginny with a one-year-old son that she claims to be theirs.**

**Disclaimer: All JKR's work.**

**

* * *

**

**TWELVE: The Three Women **

The Healer left Harry and Liam alone outside Ginny's room, telling them that they could enter whenever they were ready. Standing at the door, Harry wasn't sure where to go from here. As much as he wanted to see Ginny, he didn't know what he would say once inside. Thinking back to their argument, he wondered if she would even want to see him, if she wanted anything to do with him. He was glad to have Liam with him, whose presence surely calmed his nerves more than had he not been there. His son clung sleepily to him, his arms wrapped around his neck as he yawned and rested his head against Harry's shoulder.

"Now or never, I suppose," Harry muttered under his breath, reaching for the doorknob and turning it carefully.

Inside, Harry saw Ginny lying in her bed. Although the Healer had said she was awake, her eyes were closed, indicating that either she had fallen asleep or was simply in a state of rest. Harry let out a sigh of relief to see that although she had suffered a concussion, she showed no tell-tale signs on her unscathed face. In fact, she could have easily been sleeping peacefully with her red hair cascading all around her face on the pillow, as though she hadn't been injured. The only indication of her accident was the large cast her arm was in, pinned across her breast. And even though she was under a blanket, Harry was sure that there was a cast on her broken ankle, as well. He shut the door as quietly as he could behind him, and yet she opened her eyes wearily.

"Harry?" Ginny asked, eyes squinted and voice weak.

"Hi," he said softly, inching towards her bedside. "Look who I have here." He turned so that Ginny could see Liam's drowsy face peeking from behind his shoulder.

Ginny smiled tiredly. "Oh, my boy. How has he been?"

"We've been outside the whole time, and he just drifted off to sleep no more than two hours ago. He's been behaving though. I thought you'd want him here for when you woke up." He pulled a seat next to the bed, sitting down and propping Liam, who was fussing slightly, up in his lap.

"You know me well," Ginny said. "I'd hold him, but…" She gestured to her arm.

"How are you feeling?"

"Tired," Ginny admitted. "Tired and a little achy. But mostly foolish."

"Foolish?" Harry inquired.

"Well, I'll be known as the girl who got hit by a Bludger during her Quidditch try outs, won't I?" She laughed sheepishly, going slightly red in the face. "At least we can safely say that I didn't make the team."

"I wouldn't go too far as to say that you haven't made it," Harry said sympathetically. "You never know. Besides, you're not the only one who's ever been hit by a Bludger before."

"Who else?" Ginny asked, wondering if Harry was messing with her.

"Me," he said, raising his right arm. "Don't you remember the Quidditch game during my second year, your first year? If I recall correctly, I spent my fair share of time in the Hospital Wing, drinking a bottle of Skele-Gro quite like you."

"Ah," Ginny said in remembrance. "You see, my main memories from that year involve a certain diary and a certain Chamber. Besides, that bit didn't count for you, did it? I mean, it was a rogue Bludger that someone had tampered with. This…well, this was a result purely of my own carelessness."

"Carelessness, eh? Now, why were you being careless during a Quidditch try out?"

Ginny's face went red once more, this time compelling her to look away. She drew her attention to the floral pattern of the wallpaper. It must have been a rule, it seemed to her, for medical buildings to decorate their rooms with floral wallpaper. Even in a magical hospital such as this one, they couldn't bother with clichéd shooting stars or crescent moons.

"I was distracted," she replied truthfully. "Nerves, you know."

Liam stirred in Harry's lap. After yawning, he lifted one leg as he stretched his arms out, squirming and murmuring as he did so. Eyes still closed, he situated himself so that his legs slightly spilled over the edge of Harry's lap and his head rested in the nook of Harry's elbow. And then he was asleep once more.

"Nerves…yeah," Harry said contemplatively. He ran his fingers through the jet black hair of his sleeping son. "You worried me."

Ginny felt happiness swell inside of her, but she didn't show it. She kept her composure and turned to Harry with a curious expression instead.

"I worried you?"

"Of course, you did. How could I not be worried?" Harry asked, almost disappointed that Ginny would think otherwise. "I was so terrified…for me and for Liam, you know. So scared that it hurt. You fell from so high and…well, just the way things ended between us today…I don't know…" His voice trailed off as his eyes involuntarily scanned the ceiling.

"Ah," Ginny said softly. "Today…" She paced her words slowly, waiting for Harry to say something in return. But when he only remained silent, she continued by saying, "Harry, this thing that's between you and I-"

"Did you mean it?" Harry suddenly found a sternness in his voice that hadn't been there earlier. "I have to know if you meant what you said earlier, about you and I only being friends because of Liam. Because if you did, then that'll have been the second time that you hurt me today."

The thought of hurting Harry made her wince. Sarah or not, the idea that she could affect him so negatively was beginning to take its toll on her. She realized that the fluctuations in their relationship as of late could only end up being responsible for the end of a friendship that meant so much to her, that meant the world for Liam. Even if it meant that Harry ending up with Sarah, his presence in their life was all that mattered. Harry would never leave them, and with that realization, Ginny felt the sensation of surrender take over.

"No, I didn't mean it," Ginny said sincerely. "You're so important to me, Harry. Important to Liam. Nothing can change that. _I swear_," she insisted when she saw traces of doubt work its way across his face.

Harry found that he actually believed her and for once, things seemed solid. Whereas most of what characterized the past couple of weeks was confusion and uncertainty, he knew that at this moment, Ginny was as committed as he was to making everything work with their unconventional family, even if their actual relationship wasn't a priority. He even considered asking her about the conversation she had with Sarah, just so he could clarify things once and for all, but he didn't want to upset her. He figured he'd ask again at a later date, when she wasn't hospitalized and he'd had more time to think about his relationship with Sarah.

"I believe you," Harry said, making eye contact with Ginny for what must have been the second time since he'd come into the room.

As Ginny smiled, she noticed Harry's hand was resting on the edge of her bed. Without thinking and without hesitation, she reached her free hand out to rest it upon Harry's. The sudden warmth that came from their connection surprised Harry, but he didn't back away. He welcomed her touch, and Ginny invited herself to grasp his hand fully. She meant the gesture as a friend, to let him know that from this moment, she would work her hardest to avoid further complications. Harry seemed to understand her wordless suggestion and let out a smile.

"Wyatt was here," Harry slipped before realizing what it was that he had said. He expected Ginny to take her hand back, to frown and become upset with him. Instead, she kept his hand wrapped around his and just looked at him with saddened eyes.

"I suppose you know then," Ginny said. "I would have told you, but I couldn't at the moment. But please believe me when I say that Wyatt and I were bound to break up as it was. This has nothing to do with, erm, us."

"But you and Wyatt were amazing together…"

"If it's meant to be, then we'll figure it out," Ginny said, relying on cliché to get out of telling Harry her original intentions. More than ever, she just wanted Harry there as a friend, and not necessarily anything more.

"Are you okay, though?" Harry asked, this time questioning her emotional health rather than her physical one.

"I am," Ginny said, nodding. And immediately, the honesty felt freeing, as though the heaviest of weights had lifted itself off her.

She suddenly diverted her attention to Liam, who was finally starting to awaken in the midst of his parents' conversation. For the first time, he noticed that he was in the same room as his mother and reached his arms out towards her in excitement.

"Ma!" he squealed. "Ma! Ma!"

"Oh, Lee," she said, beaming, as Harry lifted him closer towards her. "Look who's awake now!" She kissed him on the cheek, immediately sending him into a fit of giggles.

"You're so good with him," Harry said, taking notice of Ginny as she tickled and played with Liam with her free hand. "I don't know how you did it, Gin. All of this."

Ginny simply smiled as she tousled her son's hair. "Yeah, well, we'll be doing it together now, won't we?"

* * *

Harry and Liam stayed the night with Ginny, despite her protests. Liam, as Harry discovered, slept easily, even if it meant being bundled up in a lounge chair while his father slept upright in a far less comfortable rocking chair in the opposite corner of the room. However, Harry saw to it that he contact Sarah at some point, sneaking out of the room in the early hours of the morning to call her. Fortunately, Sarah was called on a raid the day following her confrontation with Ginny, sending her to Amsterdam for the next two days, allowing Harry to leave the vaguest of messages without mentioning Ginny's accident or specifying his location.

By the next morning, the bones in Ginny's arm had fully reformed and her anklebones completely mended. She was kept for the remainder of the day for additional examination, during which the same visitors from the previous day, excluding Charlie, came to see her. Although Ron and Hermione told Harry that he couldn't possibly spend that much time in St. Mungo's, he refused to leave while Ginny remained, and handed Liam off to them so that he could get proper rest back at the Burrow. By nightfall, Ginny was cleared and officially discharged, allowing her to return home recovered albeit somewhat sore, and prepared to sleep in her own bed.

The next morning, Ginny was still sleeping when Harry went downstairs to the kitchen to find that Hermione was already there waiting with a pot of tea.

"Sarah will be here soon," Harry said, sitting next to Hermione at the table. "Incidentally, I haven't figured anything out yet."

"Here," Hermione said warmly, pouring him a cup of tea and setting it in front of him. "But you talked to Ginny, didn't you?"

"How did you know that?"

"Ginny," she replied simply, sipping on her tea. "Did that help clarify things at all for you?"

"In some respects, it did. I'm sure I can trust Ginny. But at the same time, I haven't talked to Sarah, and for all I know, she could still be telling the truth. Can a person really be that manipulative? Ginny seemed to be straight with me and yet…part of me wonders if we were just both vulnerable that night."

"Were there feelings involved?"

Harry gulped. "I…I can't say. We didn't discuss them, if there were."

"I mean on your part," Hermione said clearly, allowing herself to be patient with Harry.

"Well…" Harry tried to avoid giving a direct answer. The truth of the matter was that he didn't know. "She mentioned something about us raising Liam together finally and, I'll admit, it was a nice image."

"What was?"

"Being a family," Harry said, setting down his cup of tea. "You know just as well as I do, Hermione, all of the things that we've gone through. Having a family seems to offer, I don't know, the peace and calm of a real family that I never really had. I have all of you, of course, but this is something different. It's something new with Liam and Ginny, and finally getting to see a real image of what that could be like was…enticing."

"You'll still have us, no matter what," Hermione assured him. "Whomever or whatever you choose."

Harry thought of Liam, who was undoubtedly sleeping in the same room as Ginny right now. He thought of his gentle features, undeniably Ginny and undeniably him in the most beautiful of ways. He thought of his enthusiasm, his laughter, and his overall disposition; it wasn't fair to Liam to not have Harry entirely to himself. Harry knew all too well what it meant to have multiple father _figures_ while lacking his real father. He couldn't take that away from him. Then he thought of Ginny. Sweet, passionate Ginny – the girl whom he kissed the night they won the Quidditch Cup, whom he kissed once more on his seventeenth birthday, whom he had a child with…It wasn't fair to either of them to be this conflicted.

He knew. He knew right then what was important to him. Family. It was always family. Everyone from Hermione to Ron to the entire Weasley clan – who he was before all of this was always defined by the people who he loved and who loved him back. How could it be any different now? What was made so unnecessarily complicated by the past couple of weeks was boiled down to what Harry truly valued in life. His mind raced back to his night with Ginny and Liam at St. Mungo's, and he felt warmth deep inside.

"Thanks, Hermione." As though he were eleven again, he leaned his head on his best girl friend's shoulder. "Ron doesn't have a clue in the world about all this, does he?"

Hermione sighed heavily. "Of course not."

* * *

Harry was outside in the backyard as the sun began to set. He and Ron had planned on riding broomsticks and perhaps engaging in a small game of Quidditch when Liam suddenly begged to be taken outside. Soon, their attention focused on the toddler, who rode his toy broomstick through the garden and across the rest of the yard, confusing the garden gnomes he left in his wake.

"You think I can handle one?" Ron asked, his eyes fixated on Liam.

"A child? Or a broomstick?" Harry asked playfully. "Because I don't think you're fit to handle either."

"Oh, shut it, Harry," Ron said, giving his best mate a slight punch to the arm. "Really though, I'm a married man now, aren't I? It's in the cards, isn't it?"

"I dunno," Harry said. "Have you and Hermione talked about it?"

"She wants a child and to be honest, so do I. But…" Ron hesitated for a moment. "I've been thinking. Could you imagine a child with my red hair and Hermione's giant mane? He'll never have a fighting chance!"

"Could be a girl, too," Harry reminded him, amused.

"Merlin, you lucked out with Liam, mate. Not a bad gene in you or Ginny. Me and Hermione on the other hand…"

"Don't be ridiculous, Ron. You and Hermione will have perfectly normal children when the time is right. I swear, the things that come out of your mouth…"

"It will be nice though, won't it?" Ron asked, rather dreamily. "Imagine in a couple years' time, when the yard will be full with the children that me and Hermione have, that you and Gin-" Ron caught himself.

But Harry knew what was going to come out of his mouth. Ron's fantasy included him and Ginny together, contributing to a garden full of black-haired, freckle-faced children. Yet as far as Ron was concerned, the likelihood of such an outcome was low. Harry didn't even know where he stood with Ginny, despite what he knew he wanted. Still, he didn't mind the vision at all.

"Yeah, mate. Imagine."

Ron was about to say something else when a loud bang erupted from behind them. Spinning around, they noticed that someone had slammed the backdoor open with a total disregard for everything else, stomping towards them angrily and with purpose.

"Harry!" Sarah exclaimed, her pace more deliberate as she approached the area where Harry, Ron and Liam were.

"Take Liam inside, won't you?" Harry asked Ron, who was already gathering Liam into his arms before he was asked. "I have to handle this." And with that, Ron darted past Sarah with Liam, never making eye contact with her.

"Have you gone mad?" Harry asked Sarah, who, in spite of having stopped her angry march, was practically fuming in front of him. "You can't go around slamming doors like that in a house that isn't yours."

"You didn't _think_ to mention that you spent the night with Ginny?" Sarah's face was tinged a subtle purple, although not subtle enough to mask her obvious anger. Even her voice dripped with malice.

"I didn't think I had to," Harry said defensively. "Besides, she was _hospitalized_, Sarah. She needed someone to stay with her to make sure that she was all right."

"She has a father and a mother, doesn't she? She doesn't need you going about and playing babysitter for her. You do that enough with Liam as it is-"

"He's my son," Harry said acidly, feeling anger boil in the pit of his stomach. "Maybe you forgot that tidbit."

"Did she throw herself at you?" Sarah asked, her hands resting angularly on her hips.

"Wha – What do you mean, Sarah? Just what exactly are you insinuating about Ginny?"

"Well, you saw it yourself, didn't you? The desperation in her eyes whenever you were around? Please! We all saw it! How convenient it must have been that after cursing me, I left for Amsterdam. What opportune timing for her to act out in order to spend some quality time with you." Sarah's chest was heaving.

"Who do you mean 'we?'" Harry demanded of her. "And are you implying that Ginny purposefully injured herself? No one in their right mind would do such a thing, Sarah. And Ginny wouldn't have had to fake an injury to spend time with me in the first place!"

Sarah looked as though she had been slapped. Her eyes narrowed to the tiniest of slits as she glared at Harry.

"What does that mean?"

"It means," Harry enunciated for her, "that I wanted to spend time with Ginny, injury or not! Not only is she my friend, but she also happens to be the mother of my child, in case you forgot! Spending time with her is not only necessary, it's also unavoidable! I don't know what you expect of me, Sarah!"

"It's all fun and games now, playing house with her," Sarah said coolly, collecting herself a bit. "But as you'll come to realize eventually, Harry, this isn't the best you're going to get. With me, you'll see. I'll lead you in the right direction. Right now, it's nice to pretend with Ginny and Liam-"

"I'm not pretending!" Harry retorted indignantly. His ears were beginning to heat up in his anger. "Who do you think you are, deciding what's real in my life and what isn't?" Harry suddenly understood everything Ginny told him during their conversation at the Ministry, about how Sarah viewed him as a pet, and how she demeaned his relationship with Liam. "You're just jealous!"

Sarah's face distorted itself almost to the point that Harry could not recognize it. Her anger was so painfully apparent, and yet the most she could manage was a scream of frustration and exasperation. Out of the corner of his eye, Harry could see that Ron, Hermione, and Mrs. Weasley were watching everything from the kitchen window. However, he found that he didn't care.

"Just say it then!" Sarah demanded of him. "Say it, damn it!"

Harry flung his arms in the air in exasperation. "I'm not a mind reader, Sarah! Spit it out, why don't you, seeing as you're so good at letting everyone know what's on your mind!"

"You're in love with her! You're still in love with her!"

"Yes! Yes, I still love her! I'm still in love with Ginny!" Harry didn't care anymore. He would say it a thousand times to get the point across if he had to.

Yet in spite of egging him on, Sarah still looked absolutely surprised. She stood, frozen, watching him with her narrow eyes, her features completely distorted in her anger. She hands were curled into tight fists, both of which were fastened to her hips.

"We have history together, and we have a son together," Harry said coolly. "And nothing you do will ever be able to change that."

That seemed to be the catalyst to set Sarah off. She drew her wand out from her back pocket and pointed it directly at Harry, who immediately backed away. But before Sarah could do anything, a loud bang and a flash of white overwhelmed Harry's senses. Once everything subsided, he saw Sarah sprawled on the ground, dazed, while her wand lay several feet away from her.

"The next time, you and your wand will be in a thousand different places at once," warned Mrs. Weasley menacingly from the back door, her wand still drawn.

Sarah looked from Molly to Harry and back again before picking herself up from the ground. She scampered over to her wand to pluck it back into her back pocket. She stared at Harry, who lacked any sympathy for her.

"Fine, Harry. That's it then."

"The front door is through there," Harry replied bitterly, pointing her in the direction of the Burrow, just where Mrs. Weasley was standing.

Sarah gave a brief look of disbelief before regaining her composure and marching away in the same angry fashion as when she had first arrived. She seemed to sidestep away from Mrs. Weasley, however, before disappearing into the house and out of their lives once and for all.

Harry breathed a sigh of relief and mouthed a word of thanks to Mrs. Weasley, who simply smiled warmly and walked back into the house, no doubt to ensure that Sarah had made her permanent departure.

Sighing once more, he looked up at the Burrow, specifically the window he knew to belong to Ginny's room, where his heart resided.

* * *

**AN: **Well, that's the second to last "real" chapter, meaning that there's one more actual chapter left in the story followed by an epilogue. Hope you enjoyed and, as always, read and review!


	13. The Garden Once More

**KEEPSAKE  
Post-Seven; Harry returns from Auror training to find Ginny with a one-year-old son that she claims to be theirs.**

**Disclaimer: All JKR's work.**

**

* * *

**

**THIRTEEN: The Garden Once More**

Ginny had been watching the whole time. She was in bed when she heard the door downstairs slamming open. Peeking from behind the curtain, she saw Sarah run towards Harry as Ron escaped with Liam in tow. She couldn't hear anything, however, and wished she had one of Fred and George's Extendable Ears. Instead, she relied on body language, watching Sarah's sharp and brutal movements from behind and watching Harry's growing frustration spread across his face. She wondered what Harry was saying, what other accusations Sarah was making, and whether or not her name came up into the conversation. Before she knew it, she saw Sarah draw her wand but not before her mother came out to take matters into her own hands. As soon as she saw Sarah march away, Ginny shut her curtains instantly so as to not let Harry know she had been watching. Although a thousand questions were running through her head, it seemed clear that Sarah was gone. For good.

Within moments, someone knocked on the door, causing Ginny to jump a bit. Her heart was fluttering as she wondered, possibly, if Harry's first order of business after ending things with Sarah was to show up at her room. The idea was tantalizing, more so as she approached the door to let the stranger in.

"Oh," Ginny said in mild surprise when she saw who stood on the other side of the door. "Hello, you."

Ron entered the room with Liam, who was fussing slightly. Ginny shut the door behind them.

"He's a restless one, your son," Ron said, setting Liam on the floor with the rest of his toys. "How are you doing?"

Ginny stared quizzically at her brother for a moment. She never had anything against the small moments that they shared, but it seemed like odd timing for Ron to suddenly be in her room like this, even if he was under the guise of bringing Liam upstairs.

"I'm good," she replied warily, sitting beside her brother on her bed. "But why are you really here, Ron?"

"Liam," he said, attempting innocence to the best of his ability. But when he saw that Ginny wasn't fooled, he resigned himself to the truth. "I thought I'd come upstairs and talk to you for a bit."

"Ah," Ginny said knowingly. "There it is."

Ron hesitated a bit, as he usually did whenever he was on the brink of some important conversation, especially with her. Ginny loved her big brother, but moments like these were infrequent, and the fact that she was nearly one-hundred percent certain he would bring up Harry made matters that much more awkward, if not just a bit delicate.

"Harry…" Ron began softly, his eyes fixed on his nephew on the floor, "…Harry is my best mate. And you're my little sister. This should be familiar territory because it's…well, you two. But it's all still very different."

Ginny looked down, first at her feet and then at Liam, who was playing innocently with his favorite Snitch once more. Her son looked up at her curiously before resuming his playtime again.

"I may not be in the loop half the time," Ron continued, "But even I can sense everything that's going on between you two. I can see how upset it's made Harry, and worse, I can see how unhappy it's made you. Now, I know I'm not Hermione and I might not be your first choice to talk to about things like this but…well, I'm your older brother, aren't I? And I care for you. So…I'm here for you…erm, yeah."

Ginny didn't know what to do but smile. She leaned in and gave her brother the warmest hug she could offer, attempting to translate her affection and gratitude in one physical act. Ron didn't know what to do at first, but eventually patted her on the back before finally awkwardly returning the hug.

"Oh, Ron…" Ginny sighed once they pulled apart. "Can we do this? Or did we ruin it far past repair?"

Ron didn't say anything at first. Instead, he looked on at Liam, whose squeals of excitement occasionally interrupted the silence. It had been so long since there was a child in the house, and to see Liam now, so happy and carefree and unaware of everything around him, was refreshing.

"Whatever your answer is to that question, just think of what it'll mean for Liam," Ron said at last. "Whether or not this is something you want to pursue…keep Liam's interests in mind."

Ginny processed what Ron said and nodded. He was right. So much had changed since they had come back from Auror training, and even long before then. Before, she focused on Harry's well being, which was how she justified hiding her pregnancy from him. Once she had given birth to Liam, she decided to take Harry's advice and find her own happiness, which led to her relationship with Wyatt. But as Ron so clearly stated just now, Liam's happiness, and what was best for him, was in the foreground now. And she thought back to her fantasies while Harry was gone, and knew that what she wanted was for Liam to have his parents. That was all.

"Ron, you're the best," Ginny said, smiling. "You'll make an amazing father one day."

Ron's face went red as he grinned sheepishly, unsure of what to say. He stood up and slowly made his way to the door.

"Erm, thanks," he said, rubbing his neck. "So…good talk, yes?"

Ginny laughed. "Hermione would be proud."

Ron let out a sigh of relief. He smiled once more at his sister, confident in his abilities, and backed out of the door.

Ginny looked at Liam, who had stopped playing altogether as though to listen to the conversation he, in all likelihood, couldn't understand. Yet he stared at his mother with sympathy, and Ginny merely shrugged.

"Oh, Lee. What am I going to do now?"

* * *

It was nearing midnight when Ginny decided to go outside into the garden. Although Liam slept soundly, she tossed and turned for hours before accepting that tonight simply wasn't the night for peaceful slumber. Her thoughts weighed her mind down while the sensation of a giant anchor tugged at her stomach. Getting out of bed seemed the only way to put everything to rest, if only temporarily.

The Burrow was surprisingly serene tonight, quite unlike Ginny's insides. Moonlight poured through the windows, catching in its illumination dust motes that danced lazily in the air. Although everyone else was sleeping, random nooks and crannies of the lopsided Weasley estate had a tendency of creaking and whining even in the dead of the night. As Ginny made her way downstairs, however, even the floorboards under her feet hardly made noise.

Walking past Ron and Hermione's room, Ginny couldn't help but smile slightly. She remembered what it was like, back during their early Hogwarts days, when she lived under the impression that Harry, Ron and Hermione were the inseparable trio, impenetrable and resolute. She recalled the friendship that eventually blossomed between her and Hermione, when she found someone she could talk to, and feel welcome with. She could have scoffed at how shy she once was, especially around Harry. She remembered Hermione's encouragement to simply be herself around him, and how much more open she felt afterwards. Since then, she might as well have been the fourth extension of the trio. They'd come so far. Now, they were adults with families and adult problems on their minds, living lives that, though lived solitary during the day, intertwined with everyone else's by its end.

Suddenly, Ginny felt incredibly small within the walls of the Burrow. Her family, she came to realize, was far more than just her brothers and her parents. The Burrow was home to everyone she loved and everyone she needed. Already, she felt more at peace.

Ginny crept quietly out of the Burrow, shutting the door gingerly behind her, as though she would be disturbing something or someone outside. Looking around at the moonlit scene, she realized that the last time she had likely taken a midnight trip outside like this must have been when Liam was still a baby, back when late night feedings kept her up and forced her to find solitude and a peace of mind. Walking across the dewy grass, she made her way to her favorite bench and sat down. From there, she could see not only the garden in front of her – gnome-less for once – but also the wide expanse of silvery fields and hills that extended far beyond the confines of the Burrow. The cool air breathed relief upon her.

It had been more than two years since Harry and Ron first left. Who was she then, if not a misguided girl whose desire to avoid a relationship with Harry had been tampered by her own tendency to wind up back in his arms? They both wanted to focus on different parts of their lives. She wanted to be a Healer while he wanted to be an Auror, and now she worked for the Ministry while his training enabled him to do what he wanted. She became a parent…_they_ became parents. Roles and responsibilities had changed drastically and yet after those two years, back in the garden, Ginny still had Harry on her mind. Maybe not much had changed, after all.

Ginny heard a stirring behind her before hearing a voice that shook her to her core.

"Why am I not surprised that you're here?"

Ginny turned around carefully, almost questioning if who she heard would, in fact, be standing behind her.

And there Harry stood, his glasses reflecting starlight while he looked at her with an expression of both expectation and relief. He clutched a woolen blanket in one hand, no doubt more prepared for the chilly night than she had been on her whim to leave the house. He smiled at her.

"I didn't hear you come out," he said, walking towards her. "Mind if I sit down with you?"

Ginny shook her head, her heart beating a thousand times faster than it normally did. "I don't think anyone else will be joining us tonight."

"I hope not," Harry said, taking the seat next to her on the bench. He took the blanket and spread it across both their legs, protecting them from the cold.

As much as Ginny wanted to look at Harry, to lock eyes with him, staring out into the distance was all she was capable of.

"Restless night?" Ginny asked, her voice croaking from a dry throat. She swallowed hard.

"You know me well," Harry said, leaning back on the bench. Ginny noticed his hands were clenched tightly, nervously. "You?"

Ginny twiddled her thumbs. "Yeah…same…"

Neither of them spoke for a minute, each concentrated on formulating words and sentences that were careful and respectful of each other. For all the times that they spent talking to one another these past months, none of those moments ever felt quite like this. It had been forever since this feeling of promise, of expectation characterized a silence between them. Over two years, perhaps.

Harry finally spoke, nearly startling Ginny.

"I'm guessing you heard about me and Sarah?" His voice was low, almost remorseful.

Ginny waited a moment before nodding. She half-laughed as she said, "I saw, actually. The whole thing wasn't exactly very subtle…"

"Ah, I was afraid of that," Harry said truthfully. "I didn't want to hurt you even more. I just thought the less you saw of Sarah…"

Ginny finally looked at him, brow raised. "Hurt me? That didn't hurt me." She paused, and then added, "It's somewhat of a relief, to be honest."

"Is it?" Harry asked, his voice lighter. "A relief?"

"Well…I mean…" Ginny stuttered, struggling to find an explanation. "I just…want you to be happy, that's all."

Harry nodded seriously. He didn't say anything, but he did inch closer to Ginny on the bench, scooting over to be nearer to her. She didn't reject his advancement, and instead leaned into him so that she was resting against the back of the bench, but her head was resting on his shoulder. Both could have easily excused their actions as a means of being comfortable and staying warm, but they knew that it meant more than that.

"Who have we become?" Ginny asked, staring out at the hills.

Harry took an arm and wrapped it around her, bringing her closer to him. "Adults," he said simply.

"Not everything is this complicated when you're an adult though, is it?"

"No," Harry said, laughing. "That part may have been our own handiwork."

Ginny laughed with him, feeling safe and secure in his company. But soon, she knew she had to be honest with him, to get everything off her chest if any of this was going to work out.

"I never meant to hurt you," she said, choosing her words carefully. "I know I've been a mess and I've done pretty much all I can do to wreck everything…I was perfectly ready to raise Liam with you as friends, if that meant you being happy with Sar-" Her voice trailed off.

"You were?" Harry asked contemplatively.

"Of course," Ginny said without hesitation. She sat straight up and out of Harry's embrace so she could look him in the eyes. "You were so patient and so welcoming of…Wyatt…how could I not do the same for you and Sarah? Knowing that you would be there for Liam was all I needed."

"Well, we saw how that ended up," he said before falling silent. His eyes fell to his lap, where his hands rested awkwardly.

Ginny looked Harry up and down, noticing how vulnerable he seemed right now. How both of them seemed right now, she corrected herself mentally. This was the most honest, the most intimate the two had been in a long time…it was a familiar feeling that Ginny savored.

She reached over and grabbed one of his hands, interlacing her fingers between his and catching him by surprise. He looked at her and saw that she was smiling warmly at him. He accepted her grasp and held onto her hand tightly.

"I wish we could do this all over again, without the heartbreak," Ginny said, not letting go of Harry's hand. "We could have saved so much time…"

"Don't think like that," Harry told her, moving even closer to her than before. "What's done is done…look how much we've grown because of it. In spite of everything…Liam knows that you're his mum and I'm his dad. Isn't that all that matters? We're a family."

Ginny knew Harry's words to be true. All she ever wanted for Liam was to have his father, and now he did. He would grow up with both his parents, parents that loved him unconditionally and, best of all, would always be there for him. Together.

"We're actually doing this," Ginny said softly, still in awe of everything. "I missed you so much…"

Harry drew closer to Ginny, his lips closer to hers than they had ever been these past months. "For those two years, all I wanted was to be with you."

"Me too," Ginny said breathlessly, her eyes closed. She could feel Harry's breath on her. "Where will we go from here? The Burrow is full as it is…"

"Don't think about that," Harry gently chided her. "We'll figure it out later."

Harry made the final move and pressed his lips against Ginny's, causing both to quiver involuntarily at the connection. What hadn't been exercised in years now felt so familiar but so exhilarating all at once. Neither one of them wanted to gasp for air, scared that they wouldn't be able to absorb as much of the other as they could. Harry ran his fingers through Ginny's long, ginger hair, from where it fell on her back up towards her neck, pulling her closer to him while holding her longingly. Ginny lifted herself slightly from the bench so that she could be closer to Harry, wrapping her arms around him and leaning into him as though to let him know that she was here now and would always be. She drank in every bit of him, from the stubble on his chin that gently scratched at hers to the hair that hadn't changed since she had known him. Only when they could hardly breathe did they finally pull apart.

Ginny breathed deeply and opened her eyes, her face warm and the impression of Harry's lips still on hers. She laughed when she saw that Harry looked equally disoriented, his glasses askew on his nose. She adjusted them for him and gave him another kiss on the cheek. He wrapped an arm around her shoulder once more and pulled her closer so that she was actually sitting on his lap.

"That was…nice," Harry said, half-laughing as he did so. In this moment, Ginny noticed that he seemed as boyish as he did back on that night at the lake at Hogwarts.

"You're such a boy," Ginny teased, pulling the blanket up so that it covered them and kept them warm. She sighed and said, "Why do I suddenly have this feeling of having to figure everything out now?"

"That's Hermione's influence on you speaking," Harry said, his hand reaching for Ginny's. "What do we have to think about? It's all downhill from here now."

Ginny thought about it for a moment and though a thousand things came to mind, like where they would live now or what they would tell Liam or what her parents would think, none of them seemed so important as to bring them up now. She shook her head.

"Not sure, now that you mention it." She held Harry's hand tighter while his other one was lovingly stroking her hair. "Ron and Hermione will be pleased. Something tells me they were always expecting this."

"Something inside of me was expecting it as well," Harry said, heaving a sigh of relief.

Harry's words filled her body with warmth; the blanket may as well not have been there. In his arms, in his company, Ginny felt complete. She would have told him that she had been expecting _and_ hoping for it, too, but she didn't need to. He must have known. Whatever would happen after today, whatever they would have to tell everyone in the morning and wherever they would decide to take their relationship after that – none of that mattered right now. All that mattered to either of them was that they were back where they belonged with each other. She gave him another kiss on the lips while he wrapped his arms around his waist, as though he would never let her go.

"I love you, Harry," Ginny whispered. She leaned back and placed her head next to his, suddenly very aware that she could fall asleep like this if she wanted.

"I love you, too," Harry replied, holding her closely as they stared out at the beautiful, moonlit night.

* * *

**AN:** So, as _HarrylovesGinny09 _suggested, I tried my hardest to release this day same day of Deathly Hallows Part One (technically, it's still Friday here, but because it's so late and close to midnight, I'll just say it's Saturday), but I bet you guys were just as busy as me with the midnight premiere and whatnot. By the way, I LOVED IT. Hope you guys agree (:

Anyway, there it is. The last chapter. I won't say goodbye just yet, seeing as there's still the epilogue to come...hope you guys liked this chapter as well. Read and review!


	14. Epilogue

**KEEPSAKE  
Post-Seven; Harry returns from Auror training to find Ginny with a one-year-old son that she claims to be theirs; Harry and Ginny's happy ending.**

**Disclaimer: All JKR's work.**

* * *

**Epilogue**

It was mid-August and the summer heat had thankfully been winding down in preparation for what seemed like an early autumn. The hills and various thickets that surrounded Ottery St. Catchpole were basked in yellow sunlight as the day approached noontime. Wind swept through orchards and open gardens, rustling the leaves of trees and flowers alike. While it was an ordinary day for everyone in the Muggle establishment, it was quite the opposite for the family living hidden behind the hills and trees, living both apart yet in alignment with the rest of the world.

An unsuspecting house sat at the base of a hill, not quite the same as the houses found in the Muggle community yet not as haphazardly built as the eccentric Burrow just a few acres away. Only those who knew to look for it could find the house, which resembled a refurbished farmhouse standing resolute among the trees that shrouded it from wandering eyes that could have easily mistaken the broomsticks and oddly-shaped balls in front of it as simple clutter.

"Mum, when does the post get in?" Liam wailed from his bedroom upstairs.

"It changes everyday, you know that!" Ginny replied from the sunbathed kitchen, somewhat exasperated. She was busy adding the final ingredients to a summer stew. "Now get ready for lunch! Your cousins will be here soon!"

She heard her son huff a sigh before the clatter of what must have been opening drawers in his bedroom. She added several potatoes and carrots to her pot and then stirred.

"What's all this yelling going on?" Harry asked, coming in from the backyard.

In the past ten years, Harry hardly changed in appearance. Although undeniably older in age, the past decade seemed to have made him youthful as he had the relaxed and laidback disposition of someone much younger than him. His green eyes sparkled at Ginny playfully from behind his glasses.

"You're scaring away the garden gnomes," he continued, taking a seat at the kitchen bar. "Come to think of it, keep it up…"

"Your eldest seems to forget that the owls deliver at their own pace," Ginny said impatiently. "Would you check on Jack and Mia to make sure that they've bathed and gotten ready for lunch? I won't have them smelling like they've been out in the sun all day."

"Last I checked, they were putting on their dress robes," Harry said jokingly, grabbing a baby carrot and throwing it into his mouth. Ginny, however, was not pleased.

"Jack! Mia! Come downstairs, won't you?" She turned to Harry. "When are they getting here?"

"Ron said they'd be leaving soon. They'll be through the fireplace any moment now."

"They could have just as easily walked here," Ginny said, giving her pot of stew another stir. "Seeing as they only live on the other side of the hill."

"You know how your brother is, always looking for the easy way," Harry said, trying his best to ease her nerves. "What's got you all irritable, darling?"

Ginny sighed, still stirring her pot. "I've just got to turn in my resignation letter on Monday. But who knew that after playing five years for the Harpies, I'd grow attached?"

"Oh, Gin," Harry said lovingly, walking around the counter to give his wife a tight embrace. "I thought this was what you wanted. You said that you wanted to be at home, taking care of the children. Besides, I thought you wanted that job at the _Prophet_."

"I do," Ginny said, still in her husband's arms. "Working as Quidditch correspondent will allow me to be at home more, which, I'll admit, sounds like a vacation now that Liam will be off to Hogwarts soon, where he can't torment Jack like he does here."

"There's a silver lining to everything," Harry said brightly, giving Ginny a peck on the cheek before returning to his seat at the counter. "You'll still be doing what you love."

"I know," Ginny admitted, realizing that she had, after all this time, actually lived out her dream. "I'll be working with Luna at any rate," she said, referring to their friend who had started a column in the _Sunday Prophet_ that focused on a new, unheard-of magical creature each month.

"Mum, when does Liam's letter get in?" Mia asked, arriving in the kitchen with her older brother. "I want to see it."

"What if he doesn't get one? What if he's a Squib?" Jack asked, sitting down next to his father. Although Jack wore glasses and had brown hair that was as messy as his father's, he resembled Ginny in both looks and the way they carried themselves.

"Don't let your brother hear you saying that," Harry chided his son. "You know how sour he gets these days. And if he doesn't get one, you won't be getting one either, I'll see to that."

Jack merely scowled while Mia walked over to her mother, her red hair tied back in a ponytail.

"Claire and I were talking about it," Mia said, tugging at her mother's sleeve. "And we don't want to go to Hogwarts. We don't want to be away from home."

Ginny knelt before her daughter, holding her hands maternally as she looked her in the eye.

"You've got several years yet," she said carefully, sensing her daughter's apprehension. "By then you'll be ready to leave us behind. Claire doesn't know what she's saying. Hogwarts is for everyone, you'll see. Even Amelia Potter."

"And Teddy loves Hogwarts," Harry added brightly, referring to his godson, her godbrother. "Come to think of it, we'll have him over for dinner soon before he starts his fifth year. He'll tell you all about it, won't he?"

Over in the next room, the fireplace roared to life as bursts of emerald glow momentarily lit up the kitchen. Soon, Ron and Hermione walked into the kitchen, their daughters trailing behind them.

"Claire!" Mia exclaimed, grabbing the youngest of her bushy-haired cousins and leading her upstairs.

"We'll be in Mia's room, Mum," Claire said before disappearing up the staircase.

Jack leapt up from his seat and walked over to the remaining girl and gave her a playful punch in the arm.

"Ready to play some Quidditch?" he asked confidently, arms on his hips.

Rose laughed in her cousin's face as she bent over to tie the laces on her shoes. Between her and Claire, she resembled her mother the most, with hair just as brown and large as Hermione's back during her Hogwarts days. Claire, on the other hand, had redder, tamer hair more like that of Ron's.

"Only if you're ready to eat slugs," Rose said, egging him on. With that, the two darted out of the kitchen, making their way for the front door.

"Have at him, Rose!" Ron yelled after her, taking a seat at the counter next to Harry. "I swear – it's my lot in life to be surrounded by hot-headed women. It'll be nice once we have her at Hogwarts in two years' time."

"By then you'll have Liam and Jack at school, as well," Hermione said, helping Ginny in the kitchen by siphoning the grime off the dirty dishes with her wand.

"And I can only imagine the owls I'll be getting from McGonagall by then. It'll be Fred and George all over again!" Ginny said, dreading the headmistress's reception of her sons. "My only redeeming hope is Mia, but she's too afraid to go to school."

"Same with Claire," Ron said.

"I suppose she takes more after you than Hermione," Ginny said teasingly, earning a reproachful glare from her brother.

"Neville's tried to help us out by coming over and attempting to interest her with Herbology, but no such luck," Hermione explained.

"Wonder why," Harry said with a wry smile, causing Ginny to smirk slightly.

"Something she'll grow out of in time," Hermione continued hopefully. "She'd do so well in Ravenclaw."

"Or Gryffindor!" Ron rebutted defensively. "All the Weasleys have been in Gryffindor! Imagine Mum or Dad's disappointment to find the tradition broken."

"Oh, bollocks, Ron," Hermione said flippantly. "I've talked to both Molly and Arthur and they couldn't care less. And with your genes, our first concern would be to keep them in school in the first place."

Before Ron could reply, everyone heard the distinct sound of screeching and the flapping of wings. Sure enough, just outside the window, a grey figure was flying in from above the trees with what appeared to be an envelope tucked between its legs.

"Is that what I think it is!"

Liam's excited voice reached the kitchen before he did. After rushing loudly down the stairs, he scrambled into the room, nearly falling on his face as he did so. At eleven, Liam was the spitting image of Harry at his age, with the exception of longer and shaggier black hair that often found its way spilling over into his vision. The Weasley in his blood, however, could not be denied, as his lankiness was characteristic of his Uncle Ron, as well. He looked around frantically, his brown eyes searching the room for the owl.

"My letter!" he exclaimed once more as he ran over to the nearest window. "It's finally here!"

"Easy, Liam," Harry said. "You'll scare the owl away, and then what will you do?"

Liam brushed his father away, already taken by the wings of his fantasy.

"It all starts now, doesn't it?" he asked excitedly, pacing up and down the kitchen as everyone watched. "Getting everything at Diagon Alley, then Platform 9 and ¾, then being Sorted, and then trying out for the Quidditch team-"

"Slow down!" Ginny said, reaching over and resting her hands on her son's shoulders – this was her way of calming him down whenever he got too excited. "Diagon Alley and Quidditch try outs can wait; there's plenty of time for that later. Why don't you just look outside the window and enjoy this moment you've been waiting so long for?"

Liam took his mother's advice, took a deep breath, and leaned over the sink to catch a better view of the owl carrying what was undeniably a letter from Hogwarts. As soon as the owl landed on the windowsill, Liam grabbed at it, practically tearing the letter away and causing the owl to screech irritably before taking flight once more. Liam held the letter up in the air, almost in disbelief, and showcasing the familiar crest to everyone in the room that was looking.

He ran off once more, tearing the seal open and reading the letter aloud as he climbed the stairs up to his room, where he would undoubtedly spend hours reading and rereading the message he'd been eagerly anticipating.

"'Dear Mr. Potter…we are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry…'" his voice bounded from upstairs as he read the words all of them had read at one point in their lives.

"He'll never shut up now," Ron said, pointing out the obvious to Harry and Ginny.

"I think it's cute," Hermione said, amused. She began putting the stew into a serving dish.

"And so it begins," Harry said rather wearily from where he was sitting.

Ginny looked outside the window to see that Jack and Rose had moved their Quidditch game into the backyard. Upstairs she could still hear Liam reciting the finishing lines of his acceptance letter, which must have annoyed Mia and Claire playing in the room over.

She thought back to when she was their age and how she pictured her adult life being. Although none of this ever occurred to her, she couldn't be more thankful for how everything had ended up. In spite of everything, she was happy and better yet, so was her family. That was all she needed.

"Yeah…and so it does."

* * *

**AN:** So...there it is! _Keepsake_ is officially done. I just want to say thank you to everyone who remained invested in the characters and the story and continued to read, chapter after chapter. You guys truly motivated me to keep writing and finally finish this story.

I just wanted the epilogue to be a peek into their life after everything was said and done, just to see how far they'd come the way I imagined it. Funnily enough, this is actually the second version of the epilogue that I wrote and I decided on this one instead of the other one just because I thought it fit in better with the story. But in reality, I have an alternate epilogue just sitting on my hard drive. Maybe I'll even post it in the future (?).

Finally, some reviewers have been asking for a sequel but, to be honest, I don't really know how to write a sequel to this story. This was, very much, a love story about Harry and Ginny that has finally been resolved. I'd want to write a sequel, but I wouldn't know where to start!

So once more, thank you to everyone and I hoped you enjoyed the story as much as I enjoyed writing it. As always, read and review!


End file.
